FIRST WORDS

A busy addition to the Bright Start Right Start series.

This little book tries to cover too much. Each page has between eight and 14 small pictures of everyday objects familiar to most toddlers. The first spread is “about me,” and subsequent topics include family, home, outside, fun, food, transportation, animals, bathtime, and finally sleep. The organization is logical, but some of the concepts are too abstract to be defined by just a few pictures. For example, it is not possible to include all possible configurations and ethnic varieties of families in just eight pictures with 13 labels, but it tries, and as a consequence, all the pictures are too small. Other books in the series are more successful. The layout in Farm Animals includes one large picture with three small pictures on the facing page that provide additional information about each animal. In Shapes, a large image is on the left, with four examples of the shape on the right. The most effective spread in Opposites shows just one red car and then a front and back view. Unfortunately the other spreads are much more cluttered, so the concepts are less clear. On the plus side, the series aligns nicely with emergent-literacy principles. In addition to the labeled pictures, questions to encourage parent-child interaction are on every page.

Bright but small pictures provide many opportunities for vocabulary development when read one-on-one, but don't try to use this in a group setting.