Picture Books that Break the Fourth Wall

Mary
Mary

These silly picture books speak directly to the reader, inviting interaction and active engagement with the story. Books that encourage this kind of reader participation can foster print motivation in children, which is simply the desire and motivation to read. Print motivation is an important early literacy skill for young children.

You can sign up for a free library card here.

If you need help using our Digital Media tools to access these selections, visit our Online Resources Support page.

If you’re looking for more book suggestions, we’re happy to recommend them to you! Use this Book Recommendation form to send us some information about what you like to read and we’ll curate a list just for you.

If you have any additional questions, you can call us at 412-622-3114 or email us at info@carnegielibrary.org. You can find additional ways to contact us on the Need Help? page.

In the Catalog

The Book That Did Not Want to Be Read

The Book That Did Not Want to Be Read

David Sundin & Alexis Holmqvist

A humorous interactive story about a book that does not want to be read and will do just about anything it can to make you give up and put it down.

From the Catalog
Hey, Bruce!

Hey, Bruce!

An Interactive Book

Ryan T. Higgins

Three mice guide readers on quest for a fun reading experience, with a reluctant Bruce as the star.

From the Catalog
How to Count to One

How to Count to One

(and Don’t Even THINK About Bigger Numbers!)

Caspar Salmon

Get ready to show off your counting skills, except that everything is not as it seems in this humorous, interactive picture book.

From the Catalog
I Don't Want to Read This Book Aloud

I Don’t Want to Read This Book Aloud

Max Greenfield

A child shares the reasons they prefer not to read a book out loud.

From the Catalog
From Libby
If You Laugh, I'm Starting This Book Over

If You Laugh, I’m Starting This Book Over

Chris Harris

Readers are challenged not to laugh in a series of increasingly hilarious prompts and jokes that lead to a serious message about the pleasures of laughter.

From the Catalog
Lady Rabbit Presents the Book That Can Read your Mind

Lady Rabbit Presents the Book That Can Read your Mind

Marianna Coppo

In this interactive book, Lady Rabbit the Magician offers to read your mind, if you pick a member from the magician’s audience.

From the Catalog
Oops!

Oops!

Julie Massy

What happens when you knock on an egg? Flip a plate of sloppy spaghetti? Clap your hands near a tree full of birds?…OOPS! When children might otherwise be encouraged to be careful or quiet, in Oops! they are invited to explore cause and effect in mischievous scenarios without the real-life consequences. The results are often surprising and always fun!

From the Catalog
From Hoopla
There's A Unicorn Stuck in My Book

There’s A Unicorn Stuck in My Book

Katie Barnett

Don’t ask how it happened, but there’s a unicorn stuck in this book! Kids will be entertained by the escapades of a magical unicorn, as it tries to get out of the book and get on with unicorn things!

From the Catalog
A Very Cranky Book

A Very Cranky Book

Angela DiTerlizzi

A snarky tale of a very cranky book that might not be so cranky after all.

From the Catalog
The Wrong Book

The Wrong Book

Drew Daywalt

In this giggle-inducing story, the narrator is wrong about everything, including that bicycles say cock-a-doodle-doo and firefighters shout Ding Dong! before putting out a fire, until the characters within the book set him straight.

From the Catalog
You're Going to Love This Book!

You’re Going to Love This Book!

Jory John

Daring readers not to have fun, this unique and uproarious picture book has everything – comedy, drama, action, heart – and what’s even better, it has homework, a trip to the dentist and raisins – nature’s candy! By the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Good Egg and The Bad Seed.

From the Catalog