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
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