Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton

Oh No, George! is the latest offering by Irish designer and illustrator Chris Haughton. Haughton is best known for the picture book A Bit Lost, which won him several accolades, including the CBI/ Bistro Book of the Year 2010/11 and Eilís Dillon awards. Readers of A Bit Lost fell in love with the bewildered little owl who fell from the tree; George may be a more independent dog about town, but he too is likely to win young readers over. Despite the fact that Oh No, George! is only Haughton's second published book, he is already an immensely popular author and fans have been waiting on this book with keen anticipation. They are not likely to be disappointed.

So, what's it all about? Winsome pooch George is trying so hard to be good . But there's a problem. He sees a cake. George is trying. But it's not always easy to be good. What's a dog to do? Delightfully simple, Haughton's storytelling is all about the timing. He makes great use out of the page-turns as a device to build suspense. Being forced to wait until the page is turned over builds the level of anticipation and encourages children to engage in the pantomime formula. The text is sparse, providing just enough information for the set up (and very satisfying delivery). Young readers will have a lot of fun with this book. 

The use of strong colours and graphic style typify Haughton's illustrations. Being an illustrator and designer first, he prioritises images over text as a way to tell his story. His unusual colour choices are another often remarked upon feature of his work. In an interview with the Playing by the Book blog (published here), he discusses his colour choices:

I don’t use the real colours of the animals and I just use colours in a way that best tells the story. For example the owl is the only thing black against the bright colours of the forest which helps define his body shape graphically. George fills so much of the book that he couldn’t be black. I wanted it to be a colourful book and for his shape to be easily recognised so I had him in one block colour which contrasted with the orange background and text. The whites of the eyes (which are the most important thing in every picture) are the only things that are ever white in any of the illustrations.

Haughton has revealed that he is already working on a third project. This book is titled Don't Worry, I Have a Plan and it will centre on "three very silly characters." In the meantime, watch and enjoy the book trailer for Oh No, George!