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OPPOSITES

From the Peekaboo Pals series

An excellent resource for little ones fiddling with the building blocks of language.

The animal world is filled with opposites.

Opposites are the primary focus of this board book. Each double-page spread depicts a colorful scene occupied by anthropomorphic animals, many depicted on flaps. Each flap has text describing an action or setting (“Slow” accompanied by two elderly turtles walking down the street; “Happy” alongside a dog with a big ice cream cone), and the opposite is revealed after lifting the flap (“Fast” when the turtles hop on a motorcycle; “Sad” when the dog drops the ice cream cone). The colors pop, the animals are cute, and the flaps are easy for even the tiniest fingers to maneuver. The flaps are also considerably sturdy, as is the faux-hardcover binding. This is one heavy-duty board book, perfect for long car rides and trips to waiting rooms. There’s plenty for little readers to engage with here. Concurrently published titles Peekaboo Pals A to Z and Peekaboo Pals 123 employ similar flap-lifting fun to explore numbers and letters.

An excellent resource for little ones fiddling with the building blocks of language. (Board Book. 2-4)

Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-62686-522-8

Page Count: 20

Publisher: Silver Dolphin

Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017

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COUNTABLOCK

From the Block Books series

An inventive and extensive counting experience that will delight youngsters.

Shaped pages help youngsters count to 10 and beyond.

Two stylish double-page spreads are devoted to each number one through 10 and then, counting by 10s, to 100. In the first spread, the right-hand side is a page-high, die-cut numeral that spills off the page; to its left, a squirrel holds an acorn. With the turn of the page, there’s a transformation. “One acorn becomes… / one oak tree!” A portion of the object, animal or person being altered is visible through the die-cut openings; a sand castle peeks through the “0” of the number 10, for instance. Once the page is turned, the background from the previous left-hand page merges with the full double-page spread. As in the earlier Alphablock (2013), the helpfulness of these visual hints is uneven. After 10, 20 caterpillars become 20 butterflies, 30 baskets of cucumbers become 30 jars of pickles, and 40 eggs become 39 chicks and one dinosaur. The whole shebang ends with 100 puzzle pieces fitting together into “one big puzzle!” in the book’s only double gatefold. Peskimo’s muted color palette and droll cartoon style works well with the playful concept. The same worries about the binding that arose with Alphablock are an issue here, but the conceit will likely appeal to older children anyway.

An inventive and extensive counting experience that will delight youngsters. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-4197-1374-3

Page Count: 94

Publisher: Abrams Appleseed

Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015

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TEN EASTER EGGS

There is always room in the Easter basket for a counting book, and many readers may appreciate having another simple,...

A cheerful brown bunny hiding behind the edges of an Easter basket looks just as surprised as young children will be to find the chicks revealed as each egg “hatches.”

With help from a reading partner, young children are encouraged to count down the eggs as they disappear with each page turn. Alternatively, they can count up as the chicks are revealed. A simple phrase at the top of each right-hand page states the number of eggs in the basket. The line at the bottom (half of a rhyming couplet) tells how many chicks readers should look for. The numbers are spelled out, requiring young children to recognize the word instead of the more familiar numeral. On the left-hand page, the spaces previously occupied by an egg begin to fill with meadow plants and critters, eventually becoming a scene as busy and cheerful as a greeting card. This book begs to be touched. Each egg is made of shaped plastic that protrudes through die-cut holes on the verso; they can be pressed but seem to be securely anchored. The pastel chicks are lightly flocked, providing an additional tactile experience. Although the pages are thicker than paper, young fingers may find the holes a convenient way to grip (and possibly tear) the pages.

There is always room in the Easter basket for a counting book, and many readers may appreciate having another simple, nonreligious holiday book. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-545-74730-1

Page Count: 22

Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015

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