Obsession: Must. Push. Buttons! by Jason Good

What is it about a tv remote that attracts toddlers like a magnet?

Since man invented gadgets, it seems that tots have an obsession with pushing the button, or, in earlier days, twiddling the dial.

And that's the compulsion that the young lad has in Jason Good's Must. Push. Buttons! (Bloomsbury, 2015).

"I WANNA PLAY WITH DADDY'S PHONE!

I WANNA TURN THE MICROWAVE OFF AND ON!

I NEED TO PUSH SOME BUTTONS!"

Psychologists will say it's the urge to gain mastery of the environment.

Physiologists will say it's just fine-tuning those fine-motor skills.

Philosophers will say it's the will to power!

Parents will say it's exasperating.  Oh, it's cute when they teach the baby how to flip light switches--until Mom and Dad discover that that will mean that no light switch can go unflipped for about a month--or until the kid moves on to the toilet flusher and their cell phones

Not only does this tot want to open and close the fridge; he wants to pick up the cat by his neck and squeeze the toothpaste into the sink.

"I NEED TO PUSH SOME BUTTONS!"

If you really want to know what goes on in the brain of tot, Jason Good pulls out all the stops.

He's tired,  He's not tired, He thinks he peed.  He doesn't have to go. He's got to wear Mommy's shoes.  Help! He can't get his feet out of Mommy's shoes! He needs to see a dog right now.  Wait! He wants to play with the iPad. Where's Mommy? He's been abandoned!  Waah! Good's energetic mixed media cartoon illustrations catch the zany, peripatetic, and seemingly manic thoughts that flit through the developing human mind.

So many buttons.  So little time!

Tots may enjoy this little main character's stream of consciousness ideas, but parents will be the ones who get the biggest laughs out of this little slice of life with toddlers.