Charlie McButton illustration When Charlie McButton Lost Power

“He looked left, he looked right, and his heart filled with dread. The TV, the lights and his clock were all dead.” Suzanne Collins signature

When Charlie McButton book

When Charlie McButton Lost Power

When a thunderstorm knocks out the electricity, Charlie McButton's whole tech empire comes tumbling down. He needs batteries – FAST. But the only batteries are inside his baby sister's beloved talking doll. Will he resort to desperate measures, and cause his sister to have a meltdown of her own? Or will he snap out of his computer craze long enough to realize sisters can be fun, even without batteries?

Suzanne Collinsand award-winning illustrator Mike Lester team up for a hilarious and timely tale that will crack up young computer addicts and those who love them.

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Praise

"A computer-game addict temporarily turns into a raving lunatic when a power failure shuts down his PC, and Lester is well up to the task of portraying his breakdown. He sends red-haired Charlie, pop-eyed features wildly distorted with panic, dashing after an old gameboy, then brutalizing his little sister Isabel Jane’s talking doll for a triple-A battery. When this behavior instantly relegates him to the Time-Out Chair, Charlie yells (captured in the art by a gross-looking spray of red and yellow) at Isabel Jane, which sends her away in tears—but then also causes him to reflect remorsefully on how much he actually enjoys her company. Once off the chair, he seeks her out for a game of hide-and-seek. Collins tells the tale in loosely written verse and leaves Charlie, as the house explodes with restored light, thinking that he might go play with his sibling some more before plugging in again. Unlikely to work as behavior modification, but young geeks may take a break from their screens to enjoy the over-the-top art."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Charlie loves computer games so much, he never plays with anything else - so when the power goes out, he's really in the dark. His desperate search for batteries involves his sister's toys and some nasty behavior before he settles down to realize what's truly important in his life.
--Midwest Book Review