Off-Limits

August 30, 2021
Yoon reveals the fun behind closed doors in this comedic, well-designed picture book. A pale, blond-bearded parent tapes an “OFF-LIMITS” sign onto a home office door, then trudges off with a coffee mug and a brown dog. Almost immediately, a curious, dark-haired child disregards it: “Hello! I’m just looking,” the child addresses readers, walking light tan fingers along the desk as cinematic angles display the spread of office supplies. Soon, “just looking” turns into a riotous adventure, as the child sweeps tape around (“Why, hello, Mr. Lamp! What a lovely scarf!”), swings circular swirls of “PAPER CLIPS AND BINDER CLIPS,” and creates a kaleidoscopic pattern of sticky notes and legal pad cut-paper chains. A combination of stark angles and rounded cartoonish positions energize mixed-media illustrations in this exemplar of childlike curiosity that, with a tender end-of-book reversal, also reinforces the importance of parent-child play. Ages 3–7.

Starred review from August 1, 2021

PreS-Gr 1-Working from home can have its ups and downs, especially when young children are around. One day, a man with scruffy blond hair departs from his office, carefully placing an "off-limits" sign on his door before setting off for the kitchen with his trusty canine companion. Soon, a young girl with wide eyes, lightly tan skin, and two dark French braids opens the door to the office, flicks the light on, and addressing readers, claims she is merely going to have a look around. "And I don't think anyone would miss one piece of tape. Just one little teeny tiny piece." What follows is a visual celebration of paper clips, document holders, and way too much tape in a confetti-laden tornado of color and movement. Once the damage is done, the girl sneaks back to her room to find an unexpected surprise: her father is rocking out among her toys with an audience of stuffed animals. This delightful story incorporates the wistful dreams of both parent and child alike, especially in the current WFH reality. Very few words are included in the narrative, as the illustrations do most of the storytelling. Pastel colors begin in drab hues, adding more color with the arrival of the little girl into the story. Readers will love observing the child engaging in a familiar rendition of pretend play, and dynamic visuals and playful textual placement will captivate the attention of a range of readers. Work is not always fun, but this enjoyable tale helps remind parents of the joys that come from an uncluttered desk and a variety of available office supplies. VERDICT This is a humorous and accessible story for young readers, and it is especially well suited to families in the throes of work from home.-Mary Lanni, formerly at Denver P.L.

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2021
After their father leaves the room, a young child turns an ordinary home office into a covert playground of joy and wonder. Despite the sign that clearly marks the home office as "OFF-LIMITS," a young child seizes the opportunity to explore the space unsupervised. Rationalizing their intrusion as harmless, the curious explorer then sneaks "one little teeny-tiny piece" of tape. This small transgression snowballs until a lamp, stapler, and the child themselves are covered in tape. Moving on, the intrepid decorator discovers paper clips and binder clips. These are linked together to form joyous loops that circle around the child like a choreographed ballet. The pi�ce de r�sistance comes with the discovery of small, pastel sticky-notes that create a kaleidoscopic riot of patterns and color. This delightful tale highlights the power of play and the satisfaction of enjoying something forbidden. The simple text gives a sweet, inquisitive voice to the child. The cartoonish style featuring exaggerated facial expressions and body movements reinforces the hyperbolic tone and good-natured humor of the story. Throughout this escapade, there is an underlying tension that the child might get caught as the situation escalates. However, the conclusion shows that pretend play is both empowering and universal. The child has dark brown hair and medium-toned skin; the father has blond hair and light skin. Timely and familiar, an endlessly charming ode to imagination and enjoying guilty pleasures for the preschool set. (Picture book. 3-7)

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

December 1, 2021
Preschool-Grade 2 After Daddy leaves his home office, his daughter slips in to look around. She takes "one little teeny-tiny piece" of tape, and then another, soon covering herself and the desk lamp. Next, she decorates the room with chains of paperclips and binder clips, followed by hundreds of colorful sticky-note squares. "Uh oh," she says, "I'm in so much trouble." But opening her bedroom door, she finds her father (who has presumably raided her costume collection) wearing a tiara-like headband, pastel wings, and red tutu while belting out a song for a large, appreciative audience of stuffed animals. "Uh oh," he says. The last page shows father and daughter happily sipping tea together. The text reveals the characters' thoughts and words, while the mixed-media illustrations capture the spirit of their personalities and escapades. The first picture of the orderly office in shades of gray contrasts sharply with its later appearance, wildly chaotic and joyously overdecorated with garlands of repurposed supplies. An amusing, original picture book that works well for reading aloud individually or in group settings.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from November 1, 2021
As the book opens, a nondescript-looking man walks away from his home office, having just affixed an "off-limits" sign to its door. Around the corner (and from the edge of the title page) peeks a pigtailed girl, and we follow her as she opens the door to view her father's neatly organized office, all drab grays and browns. "I'm just looking. There's nothing wrong with just looking...and I don't think anyone would miss one piece of tape. Just one little teeny-tiny piece." We can guess what happens next. The girl begins taping up everything in sight, adding paper clips and binder clips...and then -- dramatic pause -- she finds the Post-it Notes. "Hello!" From here the pages become a whirlwind of exuberant color and swirled patterns and pure unadulterated joy. The office now festooned to the max, the girl comes down to earth from her creative jag and realizes that she's in a lot of trouble. "Uh-oh." She sneaks back to her bedroom and opens the door to find -- "Daddy!" -- that the chaos there matches that of the office, with toys in a huge pile and her father wearing a tutu and dress-up wings. All ends happily with a colorful father-daughter tea party, dullness and drabness banished. Yoon (Ball & Balloon, rev. 9/19) uses the drama of the page-turn beautifully, typography is employed creatively, and the book is perfectly paced. The girl's bliss as her office-supply art creation grows shines through in both text and mixed-media art, and her curiosity and mischievousness are so very relatable. Open the door to this spectacular book and go right in. Martha V. Parravano

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2021
As the book opens, a nondescript-looking man walks away from his home office, having just affixed an "off-limits" sign to its door. Around the corner (and from the edge of the title page) peeks a pigtailed girl, and we follow her as she opens the door to view her father's neatly organized office, all drab grays and browns. "I'm just looking. There's nothing wrong with just looking...and I don't think anyone would miss one piece of tape. Just one little teeny-tiny piece." We can guess what happens next. The girl begins taping up everything in sight, adding paper clips and binder clips...and then -- dramatic pause -- she finds the Post-it Notes. "Hello!" From here the pages become a whirlwind of exuberant color and swirled patterns and pure unadulterated joy. The office now festooned to the max, the girl comes down to earth from her creative jag and realizes that she's in a lot of trouble. "Uh-oh." She sneaks back to her bedroom and opens the door to find -- "Daddy!" -- that the chaos there matches that of the office, with toys in a huge pile and her father wearing a tutu and dress-up wings. All ends happily with a colorful father-daughter tea party, dullness and drabness banished. Yoon (Ball & Balloon, rev. 9/19) uses the drama of the page-turn beautifully, typography is employed creatively, and the book is perfectly paced. The girl's bliss as her office-supply art creation grows shines through in both text and mixed-media art, and her curiosity and mischievousness are so very relatable. Open the door to this spectacular book and go right in.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)