THE GAME OF MIX-UP ART

An explosive array of colors and patterns bursts forth when the audience artfully determines the final product.

Beginning with the die-cut cover, design elements initially convey a rigid style (a straight-lined grid appears in view) then morphs into unapologetic polka-dots. Divided into physical thirds, each flap contains two radically different designs; the boards easily move independently, producing intense results. Smudges of paint collide; swirls dip, dart and dive with a hectic flurry. Readers can contrast bold paint smears, squiggled lines and stark geometric pieces against one another within off-kilter patterns all the way through to the final abstract scene. The elongated portrait-oriented trim allows the rich paintings to stretch into each far-reaching corner. All of Tullet's entries in the Let's Play Games series (each title beginning The Game of…) allow slight interactive variations within their wordless or direction-based narratives. … Mix and Match is the most stylistically similar to … Mix-Up Art, with striking objects divided among four flaps per page in a hodgepodge of visual imagery (create a half balloon, half lemon). … Patterns utilizes sturdy backgrounds to line up a striking, angled menagerie of faces or a fluid free-for-all of expressive lines and repetitive movements. … Let's Go's distinct voice encourages closed eyes and extended fingers to dance along a velvety green line, a dramatic trip through loops, around circles and throughout patterned mazes while imposing cut-out images create stumbling blocks along the way. Comprehensive cut-outs in … Finger Worms call for digits again; pointers thrust through the holes serve as people's faces or hide along the pipes. … Light features spare text when the darkened night brings out an impressive range of interior die-cut designs with a stirring conclusion. “Fish swim across the walls! / Everything flies around! / Faces light up the room! / And a shooting star leads you to sleep.”

All of these works will inspire young artists (and their caregivers) that it's not necessary—or even desirable—to stay within the lines. (Board book. 3-4)