A Little Bit of Oomph!

by Barney Saltzberg

How do you make the ordinary extraordinary? With a little bit of oomph! An utterly inspiring and playful new book on creativity from Barney Saltzberg, author of Beautiful Oops! , A Little Bit of Oomph! teaches the invaluable lesson of throwing your heart into whatever you’re doing and trying just a little bit harder― because with a little extra effort and a lot of oomph, you can make anything beautiful.

With a little bit of oomph you can help a sprinkle of seeds―lift flap―become a magical, three-dimensional bouquet of flowers. With a little bit of oomph, small notions―like a goldfish in a little bowl―open out to big oceans (just look through the peephole!). Oomph can transform a dog’s tail into a funny tale (there’s a miniature book involved). Oomph changes curiosity into discovery, daydreams into playthings, your singing into others’ dancing.

A triumph of imagination, vibrant, colorful art, and paper engineering, A Little Bit of Oomph! is filled with pop-ups, lift-the-flaps, spinning circles and gatefolds―and, underlying every page, Barney’s timeless message that creativity is for everyone. Just add a little bit of oomph.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Art

22 pages, Hardcover

First published September 24, 2013

About the author

Barney Saltzberg is the author and illustrator of close to 50 books for children, including Beautiful Oops!, Arlo Needs Glasses, Good Egg, Cornelius P. Mud , Crazy Hair Day and the bestselling Touch and Feel Kisses series with over 800,000 copies in print. He has two new releases, Tea With Grandpa and Chengdu Could Not Would Not Fall Asleep coming this spring.
Additionally, he’s recorded four CDs of music for children. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two dogs.

Reviews

[Jessalyn King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent interactive book from Barney Saltzberg. I love opening and turning the pages and moving the dials and discovering all the pages. It's excellent fun.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Clever and fun. From the same author/illustrator who brought us "Beautiful Oops!"

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like seeing the creative ways the author integrates OOMPH! into pictures.

[Linda Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect amount of oomph!

[The Book Box]

Re-read the first week of 2021. My mom and I read this as a bedtime story.

Re-read February 2017: I've asked for this book a LOT! I point to the alligator on the spine as ask for "algator book". We've had to repair some of the flaps and moving parts because I love it so much.

Originally read 1/6/15: Mama read this to me this morning. I kept trying to grab the pop-up flaps - I love all the bright colors!

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tad chaotic in its illustrations, but satisfactory nonetheless.

However, I would have cared for better utilization of the titular "Oomph!" in its plot development.

Buy this title from Powell's Books.

[Marcie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun lift the flap waiting for art lessons.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has a great message about putting forth effort along with many interactive pages that students will like.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet colorful creative and inspiring for children in your life or the child part of your spirit. A delightful find at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art bookstore.

[Cassidy Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picture book about creativity and being able to make something beautiful everyday. Grades preschool-kindergarten-1st. Interactive book.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Beautiful Oops more but this was still a fun book.