SNAP!

Pull-tabs bounce back with a satisfying snap!

Using the same novelty format of Snap! Stick Out Your Tongue! (2020), Barner focuses on five animals known for their ferocious jaws. Readers pull the wide tabs to open the jaws and teeth of a lion, a gorilla, a crocodile, a hippo, and a great white shark. When releasing the tab, the jaws snap shut. The hidden elastic is strong and securely attached—it takes some effort to even pull the tab—and after repeated readings, children are not likely to break it. Younger children may not manage to release it fast enough to elicit the “snap!” sound. Brief text in a clean font against white backgrounds offers facts about how each animal uses its jaws, and nonthreatening images fill the pages. The choice of animals is somewhat erratic. A male lion with its characteristic mane, shown on the cover, shares a tab with the interior image of a lioness, the text explaining that she does the actual hunting. The crocodile gently carrying its babies in its jaws is followed by a hippo whose jaws can crush a crocodile. The size of the shark is emphasized by a larger tab pulled from the recto instead of from the bottom as with the other tabs. Doubtless there are more than five animals with snapping jaws. Let’s hope there is a sequel in the works.

Jaw-dropping fun.