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Oh No!

Oh No! Not Again!: (Or How I Built a Time Machine to Save History) (Or at Least My History Grade)

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Some kids are too smart for their own good...and maybe for everybody else's good. The overly ambitious little girl from Oh No! is back for more. But this time, she doesn't have a humongous problem, she has an EPIC crisis on her hands: a mere A on her history test! There's only one solution: travel back in time to 33,000 B.C. to make her wrong answer right! Mac Barnett and Dan Santat's laugh-out-loud sequel to the critically acclaimed Oh No! will be sure to tickle a prehistoric funny bone for fans new and neanderthal alike.

40 pages, Hardcover

First published June 5, 2012

8 people are currently reading
313 people want to read

About the author

Mac Barnett

118 books1,372 followers
Born to non-farmers in a California farming community, Mac Barnett now lives near San Francisco. He's on the board of directors of 826LA, a nonprofit writing center for students in Los Angeles, and he founded the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, a convenience store for time travelers.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 181 reviews
Profile Image for Calista.
5,436 reviews31.3k followers
January 15, 2021
What a fun ride this story was. I follow Dan Santat's work and he was the illustrator and that's how I found this exciting and funny story.

Our girl misses a question on her history paper about where the first cave paintings were found. (answer is France, not Belgium). She builds her own time machine, goes back to Belgium 33,000 BC and tries to get Cavemen to draw on the walls. However, they take her time machine and who knows what happens while our girl makes some cave art.

The story is fast paced, funny and lighthearted. I can see just about anyone enjoying this little bit of mischief.

The artwork is great, as expected from Santat. I'm glad I gave this a try. I would totally read this to my nephew when he was younger.
Profile Image for Peter Heinrich.
244 reviews12 followers
June 28, 2012
Great illustrations. The sight gags are clever but completely above the intended audience. Normally, I would appreciate this "multi-level humor" and the effort that went into providing a little something extra for the parent, but in this case there's nothing for the kids. Ok, there are some cavemen dressed up sorta funny, but not so funny that a 6-year-old is entertained by the pure joyous silliness of it. If he isn't, that just leaves the subtle irony of a caveman too dim to use a paintbrush somehow taking a time machine joyride and returning with Napoleon's hat. Cute, but not kindergarten comedy.

The premise of the book is funny, it's just not a practical read-aloud book; too much of the story and humor lies in the illustrations, which, though perfectly executed, I think most parents would find too sophisticated for the kiddos. Try explaining the last page: "See, she changed the cave painting's location so she wouldn't miss that question on her history test—remember how she had put 'Belgium' instead of 'France' and got it wrong—so now she got that one question right but because the cavemen fiddled with the space-time continuum (that was clear from the pictures, right? I mean, you picked up on how they inadvertently changed things so now her 'history' is all different... Didn't you read Bradbury's A Sound of Thunder?)—so anyway, now the other kid actually got a better grade than she did this time, even though he was the dumb one before—how can I tell? Well, because his letter grade improved... Letter grades? You see, they range from A to F (except E), and you'll notice that in this first picture his is worse than hers, but now... Just trust me: it's funny."
Profile Image for Amy.
1,132 reviews
September 25, 2012
Well... I checked this book out for my niece, but I did so without reading it first. She loved Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World, so I checked out this book based on the high "like" factor of the previous book. I kind of wish I had looked this one over first.

It's not a bad book. The art is fun (I guess), but at the same time, the pictures are inconsistent. Sometimes they are vivid, and eye-popping, and other times they're muddy, washed out, or almost blurry. They don't hold the eye nearly as well as the pictures in the previous Oh No book did, and they didn't make us really want to spend time examining them.

The story in this book also has a much more limited appeal, I think. The plot of the first Oh No book is easy to understand--a rampaging robot is destroying the town. My nephew is four, and he was able to follow that storyline very well, so he got a lot of enjoyment out of that book. In this Oh No book, however, kids really need to have had some significant exposure to world history in order to fully understand the mayhem in this book. My nephew would never "get" this book, and alas, my eight year old niece hasn't yet had broad exposure to history, so I really think that this tale was beyond her comprehension, too. In the end, this book flew over the heads of the kids I was reading it to.

While this book might appeal to some children, it wasn't a great book for us. More history lessons are needed on our part, but better illustrations and a more interesting plot were needed on the book's part.

UPDATE: Before I returned this book to the library today, I tried a different strategy. I handed the book to my nephew, and let him and my niece process the book on their own. My nephew was dying with laughter at the pictures of the cavemen, and my niece did, in fact, know who some of the historical figures presented were. They told this story between themselves, and got so much more enjoyment out of it that way. So, shows what I know. Maybe the fault wasn't with the story, but with the person reading it (ahem!).

The kids did spend a good deal of time looking at the vividly colored pictures that I referred to above, but my nephew barely even glanced at the muddier pictures. I was comforted by this, because it told me that while I was mistaken about the children's perceptions of this story, I was not mistaken about the inconsistency of the pictures. Thank goodness I didn't get it all wrong!
Profile Image for MsRosas.
21 reviews3 followers
June 23, 2012
The illustrations were pretty rad, but the writing was just so so. (Please know that it kills me to say anything negative about my crush Mac Barnett. Kills me.)
Profile Image for Alexis Mraz.
41 reviews
October 23, 2014
The basics of the book is everyone's dreams in school. The idea of being able to change something in the past to make what you believe correct, would make everything easier for people to understand. This boy doesn't do well on a history test about Belgium and the art history so he decides that he's going to be time travel and correct history to his point of view. When he does this at first he goes back to far in time, and then has to move up in time and when he finally gets there he realizes that things just don't change because you want them to, but rather you have to do something to make them happen. With that in mind, he tries to change history but it's too hard to do, so he ends up going back home and in the right time period.

This book has great pictures that really make you think about what is going on and actually has a lot of facts. I see this book more of a historical fiction instead of a fantasy like most people think that it is. It seems to be a historical fiction because of the real facts that it has and how it changes a time period. While fantasy is more on the lines of something that is not real and the history in this story is real and really did happen. Over-all it is a good book, with a good theme, and very enjoyable for children.
Profile Image for TaylorG.
20 reviews
May 23, 2017
Oh no! Not again! by Mac Barnett took us back in time. More specifically to 33,000 BC. I found this book on the Golden Duck Award list. This is Awarded annually in picture book, middle grades, and young adult categories to encourage this type of literature for children. I found the audio book for this online and I felt a little disconnected from the book. I was able to see the illustrations with the audio version as well an that helped to understand the book a lot more. Our main character wants to go back in time because she got a question wrong on her history test. I would definitely classify this book as sci-fi because there are elements that could be realistic but there are parts as well that we know are not real. I think that the students could connect to the humor in this book. It is very funny and I can see this being something that my students would say.
I could see using this book as a talking point, as well as being creative. We could discuss time travel and if they think it could happen. We could also discuss the reality of history that we are discussing. Is it true or not? Since the illustrations are a large part of the story as well students could create their own to go with the story. What would you change/keep the same?
Profile Image for Wanda.
25 reviews
June 13, 2020
Oh No! Not Again! (Or How I Built a Time Machine to Save History) (Or at Least My History Grade) by Mac Barnett is a sci-fiction, fantasy book about time travel and consequences. This is a remarkable picturebook about an determined girl who decides to build a time machine to change a less than perfect grade in her history class. She goes back to Belgium 33,000 BCE to change history so that her answer is right. She recruits two cavemen as artists in her scheme to create a masterpiece but because of their ineptness in handling art tools, oils and sprays so she had to change it herself. As she went to get light to rewrite history by drawing a rampaging robot in the cave, the cavemen hijacked her time machine, inadvertently and unwittingly changing history which, in turn, will ultimately her history test and score, once again. This is a beautifully written book with vivid and colorful illustrations set in frames like a comic book. Can be a read along for primary and middle school students teaching them a lesson about ambitions, tampering with history and their consequences.
Profile Image for Tasha.
4,165 reviews138 followers
September 4, 2012
The sequel to Oh No! (Or How My Science Report Destroyed the World) takes on history class. The female protagonist messes up her perfect score on a history test by missing the first question: In what modern country do we find the oldest prehistoric cave paintings? So she figures out a simple answer to getting a perfect score: she builds a time machine to change history so that her answer of Belgium is correct. When she finally reaches the right point in history, she is faced with two Neanderthals who aren’t really interested in creating art. They’d much rather stick the paintbrushes up their nose or munch on the paint palette. Spray paint worked even less well. When our hero heads into the cave to do it herself though, the Neanderthals highjack her time machine. What’s that going to do to her history grade?

Read the rest of my review on my blog, Waking Brain Cells.
Profile Image for Tonia.
32 reviews
May 23, 2020
I discovered the picturebook Oh No! Not Again!: (Or How I Built a Time Machine to Save History) written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Dan Santat on a list of Golden Duck Award winners for their 2013 award. The fantasy story involves a time slip from modern times to points in history using the main character’s time machine in order to correct her grade on a test. It is always refreshing to see a smart, driven, creative lead character be a female of color. The story is best suited for younger elementary students. Based on the content, it could be used to tie in history, art, and science in an early inquiry project.

I was able to view the book via a reading by AHEV Library on YouTube. While the video content was fairly basic and the reader a bit too monotone, you were able to clearly see the engaging illustrations and hear the text.
Profile Image for Dhaara S.
21 reviews1 follower
May 28, 2020
Oh no! not again! is a 2013 Golden Duck award winner. I really enjoyed the format of this book. It seems like a picture book but the inside is laid out like a graphic novel. The illustrator uses speech bubbles and other graphic novel visuals to represent the story. The story is about a little girl who travels back in time to make sure the answer she put on her history test is correct. After some time related mishaps, she lands in the correct time period. Hijinks ensue before she finally makes it back to her time period. It was really nice to see a smart, driven character. I think this story could be used with primary elementary students to introduce history or make even a STEM activity. It's a fun and engaging book. I listen to a read aloud of this book on YouTube.
Profile Image for Kellee Moye.
2,934 reviews337 followers
March 23, 2020
Another great sci fi, humor picture book from Barnett and Santat. I wish these were graphic novels because I want more!
Now, personally I liked the first he better than this knew; however, I think this one would actually be more fun to read with students (and it has some great connection and text feature opportunities).
Hope there'll be a 3rd one!

Read on IG Live by the Author 3/21/20
Profile Image for Maria.
4,681 reviews116 followers
April 22, 2019
What's an overachiever supposed to do when they miss a question on their history test? Build a time machine and go back to change history to get the perfect grade of course...

Why I started this book: History's my favorite and I was eager for the story to unfold.

Why I finished it: Silly and joyful...
Profile Image for Lizzie.
635 reviews40 followers
August 16, 2012
Great art, two great historical fiction like infographics that are cool. Most of the humor could easily go over kids heads. Would be more interesting animation than a picture book. My favorite part was the creative author's bio, which could be used to talk about author's bios.
Profile Image for Cory.
190 reviews
September 12, 2012
Busy, muddled, confusing. It's saving grace is having a girl mad scientist.
Profile Image for Indira.
11 reviews
May 10, 2016
Beautiful Illustrations! I will recomend this book for older kids who will have q better understanding of it and children who understand more about sequense of events!
24 reviews1 follower
February 26, 2020
“Oh No! Not Again! (Or how I built a Time Machine to Save History) (Or At Least My History Grade)” by Mac Barnett, is an illustrated picture book that I found on the Golden Duck Award list. The book was published in 2012 and I was able to access the hardcover version of the text.

The story follows a nameless female protagonist who gets 1 question wrong on her history test. Rather than accepting her ‘A’ grade, she sets out to build a time machine so that she can change history, and therefore, make her wrong answer correct. The story follows her as she travels back and time and attempts to change history while making some funny mistakes along the way.

The text and illustrative features effectively fit with the story being told. In writing, the author uses text bubbles along with text at the bottom of the pages. The combination of both help delineate spoken word and thoughts. The illustrations also fit with the story. All pages have full page double illustrations with mostly bright colors. As the book is History/Science related, the author is able to effectively interweave science/social studies terms throughout the story.

While the text lacks diverse themes, the main character is a middle school aged heavily interested in science. Historically, science has been a field dominated by men so this story does contain diverse elements in that respect.

In a classroom, this book would be best utilized at the 3rd-6th grade level. The book could be used in an inquiry around the possibility of time travel. It could also be used to talk about what was ‘fictional’ about this story and what was ‘non-fictional’. Students could also use the images in this story to create their own dialogue and text.
Profile Image for Sejal.
26 reviews1 follower
May 23, 2017
I found this book on the Golden Duck Awards Website. This book is about a young girl who gets one question wrong on her history test. In order to get a better grade, she decides to build a time machine and change history to make her answer correct. In the book, she goes back to the cavemen age in Belgium. She tries to change history by having the cavemen in Belgium draw cave paintings. However, it does not work out as she planned, while she is drawing cave paintings, she isn't paying attention to the time machine, and much of history changes. This is considered Science Fiction because it has components of science, something they think MIGHT be possible, but is not possible yet. This book has a funny storyline that I think students can engage in. This book also has a very good use of illustrations. In much of the book, the illustrations carry most of the story. I love the illustrations, however, I do wish that there were a few labels throughout the pictures so that readers can know what parts of history are changing and who certain people of history that show up in the book are. That can be something to do with a group of students when studying history. I think if I were to use this book in a class, I would use it with a discussion prompt. I would have students read this and then discuss or write about what time period they would like to go to, or what they would like to change in history. This could also be a way for students to write a paper about history in a more creative way. In addition, students could write about why they think time travel would or would not be possible.
Profile Image for Jessica Meyers.
24 reviews1 follower
May 24, 2017
"In what modern country do we find the oldest cave paintings?"

Do you know the answer to this history question? What lengths are you willing to go to ensure you answer it correctly?


Oh No! Not Again (Or How I Built a Time Machine to Save History) (Or At Least My History Grade) written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Dan Santat is a 2013 Picture Book Golden Duck Award Winner! The novel tells the story about a ridiculously ambitious little girl and her determination to fix the one question she answered incorrectly on her latest history exam. How does she plan to solve this unbearable dilemma? Time travel, of course! However, instead of going back in time and changing her answer, this little girl goes all the way back to 33,000 B.C. to change history! She travels in her bunny-faced time machine to prehistoric Belgium to change the course of history and make sure her answer is correct. Can you believe the lengths some students are willing to go for a 100% on an exam?! The fantasy-like element of the story helps readers escape from reality and enter into a magical world of time travel. It is laugh-oud-loud funny, and the pictures are creative and captivating. Although the story is full of imaginary scenarios, the book teaches several valuable lessons that little kids could benefit from discussing. Most obviously, it teachers about the dangers of perfectionism!

After watching his powerful and humorous Ted Talk on "Why a Good Book is a Secret Door," I was eager to read a Mac Barnett children's picture book. It certainly did not disappoint! I would recommend this book for students ages 4-8. He is both a stellar author and captivating motivational speaker!
Profile Image for Abeer.
20 reviews1 follower
November 4, 2021
When a young girl gets a less than desirable score on her history test, she does the only logical thing she can think of, she builds a time machine to travel back in time and change history itself. After a few mishaps, she finally enters the correct time period, only to be met by two cavemen who she instructs to help her recreate the oldest prehistoric cave paintings… in Belgium. Hilarity ensues as readers watch the Neanderthals struggle to use the art supplies and eventually take off with the time machine. Will our protagonist be able to change her history or is she stuck with a measly “A” as her grade?

“Oh No! Not Again! (Or How I Built a Time Machine to Save History) by Mac Barnett is a witty sci-fi tale about determination, communication, and consequences. This 2013 Golden Duck Award winner was illustrated by Dan Santat in a graphic novel format, with both full-page illustrations and large, boxed images with speech bubble text. I came across this title on the Mythopoeic Awards website and was able to find a digital read-aloud of it on Youtube. I would recommend finding a physical copy of this book to use in a classroom setting for the sake of the illustrations. Although this story is classified as a picture book, it can be used with multiple grade levels (K-5) to discuss women inventors, art, history, and perseverance.
Profile Image for Kristen.
31 reviews
May 22, 2017
In this adventure from Oh No! Not Again! author Mac Barnett, the main character has a huge problem - she did not receive a perfect score on her history test. Instead of accepting her grade, she comes up with a plan - build a time machine and go back in time and change history. Once she has successfully arrived in Belgium, 33,000 BCE she encounters two cavemen. She attempts to get them to make some cave art, but to no avail. These guys have clearly never seem paint brushes or spray paint before. The heroine decides that she must take matters into her own hands and leave the cavemen to work on the cave herself. While she gets busy, the cavemen take a joyride in her timemachine. This results in an even worse grade for the main character on her history test because now the historical timeline is all out of whack. The illustrator, Santat, created bright digital illustrations with lots of graphic elements. This story is hopefully makes us realize that we should be happy with what we are given. Sometime over ambition can get us into more trouble than it's worth. I recommend this book for anyone age 6 and up. Winner of the 2013 Golden Duck Award, Oh No! Not Again! will make you glad that it did happen again! :-)
Profile Image for Meghan Molloy.
38 reviews1 follower
May 4, 2017
Awards the book has received (if any)- N/A

Appropriate grade level(s) - 2nd- 5th grade

Original 3-line summary: Barnett and Santat build a time machine and learn that change, no matter how big or small, alter history. They travel through different time periods and meet new people and have adventures along the way. The reason she built the time machine was because she got a question wrong on her test and wanted to alter history to make it correct.

Original 3-line review: This book is a wonderful book for a beginner reader. The story is captivating and will surely engage the reader. The pictures and dialog bubbles throughout are unique.

2-3 possible in-class uses: After reading, the class could either write or draw about what they would do if they had a time machine. There could be a think/pair/share and then a discussion after the book has been read. Another in class use could be the students could brainstorm and then write or draw about an invention. Their ideas can be presented at an ‘invention convention’.
Profile Image for Emma Davis.
68 reviews1 follower
February 27, 2018
In this Disney book, a little girl seems to be smarter than the average cookie. In class, when she receives a less than perfect grade on her history exam, she feels she must completely alter history to make her answer correct. She then begins work on a time machine to take her to Belgium, to create the first cave drawings. While she is there she struggles to get the cavemen to draw and gets distracted making the drawings herself. This is when the cavemen take her time machine and go forward in time to screw up even more history. In the end, the little mad-genius learns her lesson about time travel, because her grade ends up being even worse now that her answers do not match history anymore. This book is written by New York Times Best Selling Author, Mac Barnett and is illustrated by a Winner of the Caldecott Medal, Dan Santat. Overall, an excellent bedtime story for your own little genius.
Profile Image for Arhely.
26 reviews
May 22, 2017
This is a picture book written by Marc Barnett and illustrated by Dan Santat.

A girl got an A on her history test because she got one wrong answer. “Luckily, there’s a simple solution.” She decides to build a time machine to change history and get an A+. When she arrives to Belgium, 33,000 BCE, she tries to convince two cavemen to do cave paintings. However, these cavemen do not understand what she is asking them to do, so she decides to paint the caves. While she is painting, the cavemen go on an adventure in her time machine. When she is back to her time, she sees her new grade. Those cavemen made many changes in history!
The book has cartoon like digital illustrations with bright colors.

The book is recommended for ages 4-8, Preschool to Third Grade. Teachers can use it during read-out-loud stations.
Sources:
BarnesandNoble.com
Children and Youth literature class.
Profile Image for Mely.
1,584 reviews
October 12, 2018
The other book in this series was WAY, WAY better. This one seemed very inconsistent. Unless a child knows the basics of time travel, this book would go way over their head. I think only older children would be able to understand this book. My little one didn't very much care for this read aloud. And this little girl in the story knows nothing about not interfering with history during time travel. Of course hypothetically speaking, the world would be so much more different if she had done what she did.
Profile Image for Jenny.
3,391 reviews39 followers
May 22, 2017
I'm sure this is meant to be funny but I thought it was way too over the top ridiculous. A girl gets an A on a history test and decides to go back in time for fix history so her answer will be correct...but of course she travels to the wrong time and things go wrong and soon all of history has been changed. My 8 yo daughter didn't like the book much either. It does feature a girl protagonist that is a scientist.
Profile Image for John.
750 reviews
Read
September 16, 2019
I like this book because it was about a girl (who I think was in kindergarten or first grade or second great or third grade or maybe seventh grade; I couldn't really tell. Most people look like older kids so I was pretty sure she was in seventh grade or fifth grade or eighth grade... if there IS an eighth grade) who built a time machine and got [spoiler alert] lost in time travel a little bit and went a little too far and a little too near.
Profile Image for Jo Oehrlein.
6,361 reviews9 followers
May 30, 2017
After missing one question on a history quiz, the student decides to go back in time to "fix" history so the answer is correct.

But that's not the only change that happens.....

I'm a little conflicted by the poking fun at the student who just missed 1 questions, but wanted to get everything right. And the comparison with the person next to them who failed.
Profile Image for Kaethe.
6,576 reviews531 followers
July 25, 2014
August 7, 2012

The sequel is just as good, and left us wanting more just as much. I'm begging you, Barnett, write a middle-grade novel about this girl. We love a mad scientist with the burning passion of a million lasers.

Library copy.
Profile Image for Peacegal.
11.7k reviews102 followers
June 19, 2013
Madcap and zany humor with a brain like a "Looney Tunes" installment. Older kids and adults will love it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 181 reviews

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