What to Do When You're Sent to Your Room

Every kid who ever earned a few time-outs on his or her own turf will smile at this deadpan primer—and parents may wish to take notes for future reference.

Ben is nothing if not prepared. So when he gets caught feeding his dinner to the dog (again) and is sent his room (again), he’s up to the challenge of solitary confinement. And he’s more than happy to share strategies with readers, from unearthing his cache of hidden snacks to liberating his caged pets, honing his slingshot skills — and of course drafting his birthday list. There’s so much to do! Will there be time to do it all before his time is up? That just may depend on Ben’s older brother. . .

“The timeout is a stubborn feature of modern childhood, and wild-eyed Ben's amusing guide to surviving room-bound stretches is part practicality -- update birthday list; sort baseball cards -- part unapologetic anarchy -- make faces at brother out the window; wait for him to do something even worse than what you did. --New York Times Book Review A funny how-to. ... Gilpi, working in an exaggerated cartoon realism reminiscent of Mad magazine, has created a ne plus ultra of a messy boys' room, and his portrayal of Ben is very much in sync with the cool confidence and strategic smarts articulated in Stott's matter-of-fact first-person narration. --Publishers Weekly Hand-drawn and digitally colored illustrations bring Ben to life for readers: the gleam in his eye, his mischievous grin, his imagination, his deadpan manner, the false emotions he puts on to apologize. But by the end, readers may be wondering whether Ben purposefully gets sent to time out--it seems to be that much fun. Parents: Beware what happens behind your child's closed door when you pronounce: "Go to your room!" --Kirkus Reviews Children will enjoy the boy's creative, matter-of-fact approach to his confinement.... Gilpin's drawings capture perfectly the child's interests and expressions--not to mention the wildly disordered state of his room. --School Library Journal The jauntiness of the Everykids and their oh-so-ordinary home in the suburbs has a Hanna-Barbera-esque cartoon style that seems story-boarded for imminent animation. There's much hilarity to be found here, and the narrator's impeccable advice could argue for this title's inclusion in the nonfiction section. Hmmm. --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books”

The timeout is a stubborn feature of modern childhood, and wild-eyed Ben’s amusing guide to surviving room-bound stretches is part practicality — update birthday list; sort baseball cards — part unapologetic anarchy — make faces at brother out the window; wait for him to do something even worse than what you did.
—New York Times Book Review

A funny how-to. ... Gilpi, working in an exaggerated cartoon realism reminiscent of Mad magazine, has created a ne plus ultra of a messy boys’ room, and his portrayal of Ben is very much in sync with the cool confidence and strategic smarts articulated in Stott’s matter-of-fact first-person narration.
—Publishers Weekly

Hand-drawn and digitally colored illustrations bring Ben to life for readers: the gleam in his eye, his mischievous grin, his imagination, his deadpan manner, the false emotions he puts on to apologize. But by the end, readers may be wondering whether Ben purposefully gets sent to time out—it seems to be that much fun. Parents: Beware what happens behind your child's closed door when you pronounce: "Go to your room!"
—Kirkus Reviews

Children will enjoy the boy’s creative, matter-of-fact approach to his confinement.... Gilpin’s drawings capture perfectly the child’s interests and expressions—not to mention the wildly disordered state of his room.
—School Library Journal

The jauntiness of the Everykids and their oh-so-ordinary home in the suburbs has a Hanna-Barbera-esque cartoon style that seems story-boarded for imminent animation. There’s much hilarity to be found here, and the narrator’s impeccable advice could argue for this title’s inclusion in the nonfiction section. Hmmm.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Ann Stott is the author of Always and I’ll Be There, both illustrated by Matt Phelan. About What to Do When You’re Sent to Your Room, she says, “My youngest son has spent a fair amount of time in his room. Some of the strategies in this book are based on his own.” Ann Stott lives in Massachusetts with her family.

Stephen Gilpin has illustrated more than thirty books for children, including the Who Shrunk Daniel Funk? books, written by Lin Oliver. About this book he says, “I hope I made the room look messy enough. I haven’t seen a kid’s room that wasn’t pretty darn messy.” Stephen Gilpin lives in Kansas.

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