"COULD YOU LIFT UP YOUR BOTTOM?"

Bottoms up!

Frog is off to a formal event when her fancy hat flies off her head and most unfortunately settles beneath the rump of an elephant. “Elephant, could you please lift up your bottom?” she politely asks. This unusual premise leads to a rather surprising exploration of two-dimensional shapes, as Elephant requests various foods that are round, triangular, and rectangular, mendaciously promising that then he’ll allow Frog to retrieve her hat. Simple text peppered with plenty of dialogue provides straightforward description, while collage-style illustrations focus on the different shapes as Frog produces various choices for her hat’s captor. Ultimately, it’s up to Frog to find a way to trick Elephant into moving, and when the hefty pachyderm finally does, it’s a sight to behold. While children will have more than one giggle at the repeated references to the titular bottom, shape recognition is the true focus here; the best part of this selection lies in the final pages, which feature extension activities designed to help children gain enjoyment at seeing shapes in real life (in this case, food).

An effective choice for developing shape recognition mixed with some salty fun.