Tyndale House Publishers Review: Oops! by Bill Myers

Oops!
by Bill Myers
© 2011 by Bill Myers
Published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc

Oops! is the third book in Bill Myers' newest series for kids, TJ and the Time Stumblers. TJ (also known as Thelma Jean Finkelstein) continues in her pursuit to fit in at her new school in Malibu, California while attempting to keep the pesky time stumblers from the 23rd century, Tuna and Herby, from completely ruining her life with their crazy antics. In Oops! TJ learns to appreciate the people around her, despite their rude behavior, oddity, and strange habits, as the individuals God created them to be. But thanks to the 23rd century invention of the thought-broadcaster pen (which makes the thoughts of anyone it hits audible), TJ finds herself in some precarious situations that only seen to get worse with her attempts to fix them. In addition to hampering her struggle to fit in at school, the pen also creates havoc in TJ's developing friendship with cute-boy, Chad Steele. In a conversation with her dad, TJ learns how her mother had handled problems and situations that she did not like and she realizes that it is best to try to see what God sees in others, not only what she sees. TJ also learns that regardless of an individual's behavior or attitude, each person in the world needs to be loved.

This book is written for ages 8 (3rd grade) and up. It is comprised of eleven chapters in 158 pages. The book offers a great deal of dramatic design in it's pages with regard to fonts and spacing for effect, and gives young readers the opportunity to use their imaginations when reading particular words from the pages. The author uses a great deal of contemporary humor and made-up words that will appeal to readers in the 8-12 year age group as well as captivate their imaginations and leave them wanting to read more about this sort-of-crazy girl and her almost-out-of-control life.


Check out this trailer for the series:




The author shares the story well and uses characters that young readers will find amusing and to whom they can most likely relate. He uses characters and situations that most readers will find relevant and easy to imagine as well. Myers blends these elements with biblical principles that urge readers to consider what God would want them to do in similar situations.

Although this book is part of a series readers do not need to have read the previous books to keep up with the characters or storyline. Myers masterfully conveys the events and character development in such a way that allows readers new to the series to effortlessly follow the story and want to read more.

The author uses a variety of interpersonal relationships to tell TJ's story, but some of the situations and the context of certain relationships may be slightly too mature for readers closer to 8 years old than 12 years. Parents who are concerned with early exposure to relationships with the opposite sex should be aware that there is a great deal of emphasis on boy-girl relationships and the terms boyfriend and girlfriend are used in a mature context.

Overall this book is enjoyable to read, entertaining, and promotes a biblical message to kids in a fun way. I recommend this book and the series for young readers ages 10-12 years.

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for this review.