Reviews: Novelty Board Books, infant-4

[Wendy E. Betts]

Fuzz & Fur and Splish Splash written and illustrated by Lizi Boyd
Let's Make Friends written and illustrated by Patrick Yee
Take Care of Brown Bear by Harriet Ziefert. Illustrated by Susan
Baum

NOTES FROM THE WINDOWSILL ISSN 1078-8697
An electronic journal of book reviews. Copyright 1995 Wendy E. Betts.
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Vol. 3, No. 5a Novelty Board Books, ages infant-4 5/2/95

__ Fuzz & Fur_ and _Splish Splash_ written and illustrated by Lizi
Boyd. Chronicle, 1995 (0-8118-0377-5/0-8118-0346-5) $5.95 ea

In the tradition of _Pat the Bunny_, _Fuzz & Fur_ lets babies touch
the (fake) soft, furry skin of various animals, from a "fuzzy monkey
belly" to a "fluffy bunny tail." The whimsical animals pose against
backgrounds of pastel mauve and seafoam green; their furry parts, in
brown, black and white fluff, stand out invitingly. _Splish Splash_
uses soft terry fabrics to tactilely illustrate a bathtime story, as a
small child washes his face, gets dried off by papa and climbs into his
p.j.'s. The illustrations are rather unusual for board books--not
obviously complex, but with more style and flourish than is usually
seen in these extra-simple books. Can be read aloud or safely enjoyed
by children on their own. (infant & up)

__ Let's Make Friends_ written and illustrated by Patrick Yee. Viking,
1995 (0-670-85940-0) $2.99

This tiny, very chunky board book is an undistinguished but nice
collection of pictures that toddlers can look at by themselves. Each
page features a simply drawn animal against a bright contrasting
background; there isn't a whole lot of action, but most of the animals
are happily enjoying a snack. Other titles in this series are Let's
Go, Let's Eat and Let's Play. (1-4)

__ Take Care of Brown Bear_ by Harriet Ziefert. Illustrated by Susan
Baum. Viking, 1995 (0-670-85458-1) $6.99

Reusable vinyl stickers let readers "take care of Brown Bear" by
adding items to the brightly colored illustrations: soap for Brown
Bear's bath, a bandage for his scraped knee and a teddy to sleep with.
This is a fun participatory book; I like the fact that readers have
some choices of which objects to use, although it could still be a lot
more open-ended than it is. (2-4)
--
Wendy E. Betts, Editor "The WEB: Celebrating Children's Literature"
finger w...@deeptht.armory.com; http://www.armory.com/~web/web.html
"Susan hated Literature. She'd much prefer to read a good book."
-Terry Pratchett, _Soul Music_