Intensely colored vignettes feature a menagerie of animals as they tell their brief and funny tales. Onomatopoeic language will engage even the youngest readers: "Flick Stick [open the flap] Yum!" says the brilliantly green frog as it slurps up a fly. "Click Whirrr [open flap] Purr!" goes the deep purple cat playing with his windup toy. "Peek Pounce [open flap] Crunch!" says the vibrantly gold bunny as he pops out of his hole to munch a dazzlingly orange carrot. Each spread develops its simple plot in three words, with the surprise punch line hidden behind the fold-out flap. The resulting triptych reveals the amusing and unexpected ending. Full-bleed backgrounds of bold color that set off the central figure in their equally bright palettes are the perfect accompaniment to this surprising and engaging offering. (Picture book. 1-4)Read full book review >

Gunson presents the numbers from one to ten in a sumptuous book for the very young that toys with the familiar childhood ditty, ``Over in the Meadow.'' ``Over in the field in the green and the blue/lived a woolly mother sheep/and her little sheep two./`Leap,' said the mother./`We leap,' said the two. . . .'' The rhyming builds on the framework of animal babies whose numbers continue to increase. Warmth, security, and playfulness permeate the book, in the rhyme and meter, unexpected syntax and language, and absorbing tableaux. The creatures are often shown with smiles that border on cutesy, but there is otherwise a sophistication to the portrayals—which have a sponged look—of cats, sheep, frogs, and other animals in richly colored settings. Texture is emphasized rather than detail, to unique effect. A final spread presents all the animals for counting in a read-aloud of which adults won't quickly tire. (Picture book. 2-4) Read full book review >