BABY ANIMALS

This baby-animal primer features embedded touch-and-feel textural elements.

Each page features one cartoon creature on a brightly colored background with the diminutive name of the critter captioned below. One small portion of the animal has one or two fabric elements securely inserted into the thick board pages. There’s a gray “kitten” with a slender, soft tail, a “guinea-pig pup” with a felted body, a “lion cub” with a leathery nose, and a “penguin chick” with a sparkly, gently scratchy belly. Some of the touch-and-feel surfaces are on the scanty side, like the mane on the “donkey foal,” but there is a nice diversity of sensations. The animals are endearing, with oversized googly eyes and larger-than-normal heads in bright colors. On the cover is a puppy fully constructed in fabric, but it doesn’t appear within. Most compositions feature suitable contrast, but the ocher guinea pig against a pink background and gray donkey foal against a green background may be a little difficult for developing eyes to pick out. Babies will enjoy playing with (and chewing on) the red tag that protrudes from the front cover.

A simple and satisfying sensory experience.