novelty

A bit of quick novelty fun.

All Around TownWhen I came across this book I was pretty keen. For starters, the book is somewhat of a novelty; it is shaped like a miniature city – I think that’s kind of awesome. Inside the city, there are cars and roads and six buildings – each building has a dedicated little first-word type book, eg. hospital, school etc. and each book is filled with words related to that building, such as ‘student’, ‘patient’ etc.

Visually speaking, the layout of this book definitely breaks up the monotony of some of the other first-word books that I’ve come across. Unfortunately, I ended up more interested in this book than my son which is not a great thing because, not to boast here, I already knew all the words. I’m not sure I can actually explain why my son isn’t totally into it because it appears to have everything you’d want and/or need in order to attract a very young reader. I’m going to persist with this one because the words inside are actually quite useful, and not often found in a lot of the other ‘baby’s first word’ books.

I am recommending this book, but I’d caution that you test it on your little one before you buy it. I’m thinking of bringing it to playgroup this week and seeing if the other little hands find it more appealing. That being said, I think it’s worth a try. I’d recommend it for children ages 1-3 (though 3 is pushing it).

All Around Town, illustrated by Veronica Klimova, can be found at: http://www.paperchainbookstore.com.au/search.cfm?UR=BI234258&search_stage=details&records_to_display=50&this_book_number=28

Not my usual sort of picture book review.

jay p and l 123Usually I go through picture books that have some sort of a narrative, but today I had to make an exception. My son is infatuated with these books! Now that he has started to develop a healthy bank of numbers and words, he is able to achieve a sense of accomplishment when he recognises what he sees in books. It is amazing to watch his first experience of gratification from learning. It’s delicious, really.

The Play and Learn 123 and Play and Learn ABC books are not just numbers and letters. They also include an assortment of pictures, words, colours and interactive elements such as lift-the-flap and slide-the-flap. The variation is enough to keep him entertained. The font size is big and fun, the bright colours are attention-grabbing and the choice of pictures (animals, fruit, body parts) is fantastic. This, combined with his prior knowledge, is enough to keep him motivated. He flips through these books over and over again — but I’m not complaining!

These books tend to be recommended for children 2-4, but my bub is 15 months so really there’s on harm in starting your one-year-old (or younger!) on these books. You can find a bunch of Roger Priddy’s books, including these, here: http://www.amazon.com/Board-Books-Colors-Numbers-Bright/dp/0312502192