CITY

Take a tour through an urban environment by following variously shaped tracks.

In this book with a little bit of everything, readers can manipulate flaps and touch debossed areas and die cuts. The left-hand page poses the question “Who is making tracks?” along with a shaped, indented track. Little fingers can touch and follow the various paths; folding out the flap on the right side reveals what hidden animal, person, or vehicle made the print. It’s a simple concept that invites plenty of audience participation as toddlers use clues to make guesses about the track’s origin. This simplicity extends to the minimal, stylized art. Chunky, rounded, collage-style illustrations with no shading or outlining are effective enough, if on the garish side, with a typical page showing a plump gray mouse running atop a matte violet background while a few golden dandelions and the lime-green mouseprints round out the page. Two human children appear. Both have dark skin, and one is a wheelchair-basketball player. Shaped flaps are solid and easy enough to fold out, though confusingly, while some of the die cuts provide clues, such as a bicycle sign near a single-lined tire track, others, like the oval, yellow center of a red-petaled flower, are cryptic. The series also travels to the Desert, Jungle, and Mountain.

An amiable-enough combination of tactile elements and problem-solving practice.