Twins enjoy a day of play at home and at the park.
Although the illustrations and text are intentionally vague, the twins in question are likely a fraternal pair of undefined gender. The duo engages in traditional toddler play: block building, pot banging, pulling every book off the shelf, swinging and sand play. In Weiss’ light verse, the twins describe their activities in rhyming couplets: “Hooray! We love to play! / What will we do today?” Williams’ watercolor-and-pencil art, which previously appeared in three early-reader titles also penned by Weiss, seems tailor-made for board books. On white backgrounds and in muted colors, this cartoon pair of curly-haired tykes are recognizably toddler in their actions, gaits and expressions. While the twins change outfits inexplicably a couple of times throughout the day, youngsters won’t particularly mind or notice the continuity issues created by merging illustrations from three different books. The companion title, Bathtime for Twins, also with some previously published art, takes the siblings through their bath and bedtime rituals. In both books, safety-conscious parents may balk as the twins play with a balloon (a known choking hazard) or pour excessive amounts of shampoo on their own heads.
All in all, given that there are so few board books about twins available despite the recent rise of multiple birth rates, this pair is a welcome new arrival. (Board book. 1-3)
