This familiar name in language instruction turns out lackluster stories for a toddler audience.
Little Pim plays outside and meets a caterpillar. Correlating colored type indicates the panda's varied feelings in English, Spanish and French, with pronunciation. The corresponding page features three photographs of individual children; lifting flaps or pulling tabs reveals two of the youngsters acting out the specific emotion (always a boy and a girl to depict the variations), while the third child is a decoy. The clunky phrases follow a straightforward but uninspired presentation. “The caterpillar leads Little Pim back to his tree! / But then she disappears. / Where did his new friend go? / Little Pim feels sad / triste [TREES-teh] / triste [treest].” The small type makes easy reading a challenge. The companion Colors follows much the same format as Little Pim looks for different-colored balloons for a celebration. These interactive elements allow for easy exploration, though the wooden tone dampens enthusiasm in both selections.
Unfortunately, Little Pim's day is bland no matter how you say it. (Board book. 2-4)
