BABY ANIMALS SPOTS & STRIPES

Photorealistic, black-and-white images of baby animals dominate this infant-oriented offering.

Newborn and infant eyes will appreciate the high contrast. Black-and-white images of a bunny, raccoon, turtle, snake, owl, duck and two kinds of fish appear against alternating black and white backgrounds. While in many such efforts images tend to appear flat and lifeless, the baby animals shown here are rendered in considerable detail. Appearing textured and lifelike, each exudes charm of its own. The baby owl and duck, in particular, look downright cuddly. The final double-page spread—rendered, surprisingly, in full color—features an African-American girl and a Caucasian boy contentedly playing with a box full of toys. Notably, most of these toys resemble the very animals that have appeared on prior pages. Adults can prompt little ones to connect the black-and-white animal images they have seen previously to the toys that appear in the final, colorful spread.

This slim volume is a lovely introduction to books for the tiniest babes.