- Picture Books
- Ages 2–6
- Animals
Oh No, George!
Part of the Chris Haughton universeOpen the collection
George promises to be good. George will not eat the cake. George will not dig up the garden. George absolutely will not chase the cat. Oh no, George. Chris Haughton's funniest and most beloved book: a perfect picture of impulse control that children recognise and adore.
- Best for2–6
- FormatPicture
- Length32 pp
- Read aloud~6 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Repetitive
- Conversational
- Comedic
Tone
- Warm
- Funny
- Silly
- Irreverent
- Heartwarming
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Harris is going out. He trusts George to be good. Will George be good? George will be absolutely excellent. Then George sees the cake. Oh no. Then the bin. Oh no George. Then the cat. OH NO GEORGE. When Harris comes home, the evidence is everywhere, and George's expression says everything. Chris Haughton structures the book as a series of temptations faced and failed, each one announced with the same question, will George be good THIS time?, and each one landing with the same answer. Children immediately identify with George. The gap between intention and action, the desire to behave and the inability to resist, is recognised at age 2-6 with instant recognition and no small amount of relief: someone else feels this too. George doesn't offer excuses. The warmth of his relationship with Harris survives the chaos without requiring explicit forgiveness. A consistent recommendation for children with impulse control challenges, and also simply the book that makes children laugh hardest at Chris Haughton events. One of the great picture book comedy performances.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 2–6
- Read aloud · 2–7
- Independent · 5–7
Prose load
Minimal
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Excellent
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
2 / 5 · Better outside bedtime
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Laugh out loud
- Impulse control
- Dog lovers
- Read aloud
- Discussion starter
Avoid if
No common reasons to avoid this one — a rare clean sweep on the sensitivity flags.
Particularly good for children who are…
- Low self esteem
- Neurodiversity or learning differences
- Anger management
In the classroom
How it works in school.
A funny, repetitive read-aloud about a dog struggling to be good — great for joining in and talking about choices and self-control.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific recognition is wanting to be good and absolutely not being able to — George the dog promising, then seeing cake, then seeing cat, then seeing mud, the same intention failing the same way. The picture book that names every small child's exact impulse-control problem.
- Animal companions
- Trickery and cleverness
- Friendship and belonging
Why parents love it
The Chris Haughton gold-standard read-aloud — George trying to be good and failing on every page, the refrain becoming a chant. Useful for any child working on impulse control; reassuring rather than shaming. The bedtime book that makes both parties laugh.
- Shared humour
- Conversation starter
- Quick to read
- Bedtime appropriate
About the author & illustrator
Chris Haughton.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Where you’ll find it
On these reading lists.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
When you buy through the links above, we may earn a small commission — it never costs you more, and it never changes the books we choose. How we’re funded →