HAVE YOU SEEN MY LUNCH BOX?

A getting-ready-for-school book for little ones who are learning their colors.

A pink-cheeked white boy is getting ready for school in the morning, but he needs readers’ help in finding something in each spread. On the verso is the spare text. “Time for school. Where are my socks?” The background of this page is pink, the same color as the socks readers are trying to spy. Black-and-white ink drawings fill the recto pages with scenes inside the boy’s house, outside his brownstone, and on the sidewalk waiting for the school bus, the item being sought the only spot of color. The boy’s family includes a dad in a shirt and tie, a little sister, and a mother with a ponytail and a skirt. The final page lists all eight items and their colors, including a crayon, a robot, a pencil case, a ball, a book, some marbles, and a lunch box. The colors include red through blue, purple, pink, and teal. Light’s illustrations are filled with lots of details—enough to make spotting each colored object something of a challenge—and adults sharing this with toddlers can easily give them more items to find, match, and count and thereby extend the fun.

This may turn the dreaded morning routine into a game, and what could be more welcome than that? (Board book. 2-5)