Noisy Peekaboo! Baa! Baa! Dawn Sirett

Get ready for flaps, large spreads, and farm noises in Noisy Peekaboo! Baa! Baa! Your readertotz will be lifting the flaps looking for the adorable stuffed animals behind rugs, bags, and buckets. Every left side of the spread features a beautiful toddler, with several ethnicities represented. The right side contains the flaps and sounds set in vibrant color.

The only disappointment is that the book is just five pages. The thick conclusion houses the sound mechanisms. However, with three to four flaps per spread, your reader will be kept busy. Check out Noisy Peekaboo! Baa! Baa! and join the barnyard fun.

Noisy Peekaboo! Baa! Baa!
by Dawn Sirett
Designed by Rachael Parfitt
DK, 2009

~Lorie Ann

I Can Eat a Rainbow: Annabel Karmel

When I pick up a DK book, I'm always hoping for those amazing layouts filled with photos of beautiful items and imagery. Sure enough, I Can Eat a Rainbow by Annabel Karmel did not disappoint me!



Each page is a different color filled with fruits and vegetables that will delight your totz. Included are photos of animals constructed from the featured foods on each spread. The purple elephant is made from a red cabbage, beets, and an eggplant. The white sheep is made from cauliflower, onions, and a potato.

Eyes are added to random food items along with numbers, dotted lines, and bold and regular fonts. Occasional food facts are included. How can fruits and veggies be so fun? With Annabel's creativity, that's for certain.

You can look forward to a first page devoted to parents with activities and helpful tips. Even that material is displayed attractively for totz' interest.

Annabel is a leading children's food expert. Check out her website and look for her Mom and Me Cookbook and Toddler Cookbook. I'll most likely be reviewing them as well, soon!

I Can Eat A Rainbow
Annabel Karmel
DK, 2009

~Lorie Ann

Baby Nose to Baby Toes: Vicky Ceelen

A photo-illustrated board book has to be really exceptional to grab my attention. I usually expect to find them from DK, so I was delighted to find Baby Nose to Baby Toes from Random House.

What is it that popped this work for me? Certainly the charming photos that compare babies to animals. Who can resist the tippy-top of a baby's head or a duckling's? Or the:

"Wrinkly, crinkly,
saggy, baggy,"

behinds of a baby and elephant! The pastel colors that frame both color and black and white photos are appealing. The varying viewpoints continue interest. How encouraging that both author and publisher were confident to include the photo of a baby nursing. It's refreshing to see truth shared without embarrassment.

But the text also enriches this work. From near-rhyme, to rhyme, to repetition, the ear is engaged as much as the eye.

Enjoy Vicky's contribution with your totz! You will ooooooo and ahhhhhh and have much to discuss together!

Baby Nose to Baby Toes
by Vicky Ceelen
Random House, 2009