Module 2: Oh No! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World)

"Oh No! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World)" by Mac Barnett

Book Summary: A girl creates a robot as her science project. The only bad thing is that it is now destroying the city. She attempts to stop the robot by yelling at it and holding up a sign. These plans do not work because she did not give it ears to hear her and she did not teach her robot how to read. So the only reasonable thing for her to do is to create something else to take down the robot. Her new creation, a giant frog, does defeat the robot. What is stopping the frog from taking over the city as well?

APA Reference of Book:

Barnett, M. (2010). Oh no! (Or how my science project destroyed the world). New York, NY: Disney-Hyperion.

Impressions: Mac Barnett does such a great job of writing just enough and allowing the illustrations to speak for themselves. I love how the girl realizes all the mistakes in her design as she is trying to stop it from destroying the world. “I should have given it ears”, she says after she yells at it to stop. Holds up sign. “I should have taught it how to read.” This is the kind of humor that kids will love, and it will encourage them to read the story again and again. 

Professional Review:

“When a girl’s science fair robot begins tearing the city apart, she tries to stop the rampage by creating an equally powerful giant toad, who defeats the robot but then causes a different kind of trouble. Large, action-packed spreads and comic panels capture the chaotic humor of inventions gone wrong.”

Engelfried, S. (2013). Inventions: What’s the Big Idea?-Focus On [Review of Oh no! Or how my science project destroyed the world by Mac Barnett]. School Library Journal, 12. Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/2013/12/collection-development/focus-on-collection-development/inventions-whats-the-big-idea-focus-on/

Library Uses:

A good activity after reading this book would be to have kids make their own robots. You can provide small boxes or sturdy paper that they can fold into cubes. For all the buttons and gizmos on the robot, you can provide buttons, stickers, uncooked macaroni, random odds and ends, etc. Or if supplies are an issue, you can just provide a lot of paper and markers for them to draw designs on their robot.

For a classroom, this would be a great story to read before a science fair or on the first day of school.