This set of six blocky board books, each in a different color range, is better suited to play than reading.
The design is simple: Every title, whether red, orange, yellow, green, blue or purple, includes five pages that look as though they could be Pantone® color-matching chips used by graphic designers, each of these pages in a slightly different hue. Three pages of each minibook include die-cut shapes that form one object and then another on the verso. In Green, the die-cut peapod becomes a caterpillar via the page turn and the strategic placement of a few black accent lines. The official Pantone® numbers are included, and the names of the colors, which are not official, often speak to the object depicted in the die cut (the sunny-side-up egg is in “Omelet Yellow,” and a whistle is in “Police Officer Blue”). A simple caption labels each of the objects at the bottom of the page. With a couple of exceptions, most of the die-cut holes are sturdy and have rounded edges.
While the minimal text and almost-too-subtle variation between the pages make these books ill-suited to shared reading, the shape and weight of each book are fine for block play and solo exploration. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)
