Colors and Opposites: Xavier Deneux

It's so lovely to see concept books presented in a fresh way. Xavier Deneux has achieved that with Colors and Opposites, touch/think/learn. With carefully designed cutouts he shows color. A raised brown bear walks from the right hand of the spread, leaving his cutout behind, now filled with brown leaves. A white raised cat stands opposite her cutout of a black cat.

Opposites is wider in representation. A raised cat atop a ladder illustrates High, while in the opposite cutout a mole shows Low. A Heavy raised elephant is opposite of a cutout Light cloud.

The tag on the series which includes Numbers and Shapes as well is: To touch is to experience. To experience is to learn. There is a choking hazard for children under 3 due to the small pieces. Otherwise, the work is a visual delight.

Colors
Opposites
by Xavier Deneux
Handprint Book, Chronicle, 2013

August: For the Older Sibling, Press Here

How about the coolest book ever this month, for the older sibling of your totz? A New York Times Best Seller! I have to nominate Press Here by  Herve' Tullet. As School Library Journal said, "It's a magic trick that never stops giving." Even my mother was enamored and played along from beginning to end!

Imagine dots: red, yellow, and blue. Now simple instructions which yield results as you turn each page. Sometimes the dots multiply with a press and page turn. They may change color with gentle rubbing, while taps might reorient the groupings. Shaking and tilting moves the dots as well.



You'll find the lights go out until you blow the black away. Clapping increases the dot size, until you begin again, at the start of the book.

With graphic simplicity, you and your child will enjoy the fun reading game of Press Here. And then you will run to share the book with another. Thank you, Herve' and Chronicle! Wonderful!

Press Here
by Herve' Tullet
a Handprint Book, Chronicle, 2011