FIRST WORDS

A simple lift-the-flap offering provides various vocabulary words for little ones.

There's no narrative to speak of, just a good ol' fashioned guessing game. Each page has a big, bold image with "What do you see?" written in broad black type above. Babies are encouraged to name the object (ball, cat, chair, duck, apple, teddy bear, car, flower, blocks, cup) before lifting the nearly full-page flap revealing the answer and another picture of the object. These second pictures include a child or children with the object (a babe in the tub with the rubber duck, another snuggled with the teddy bear, etc.). The children represented are fairly diverse both ethnically and in age. The flaps are suitably sturdy, and a half-circle notch at the edge of each should make it relatively easy for little fingers to lift, encouraging children to interact with the books both physically and mentally. The four-color aesthetic is eye-catching to young and old alike, and the board books are constructed with a die-cut handle at the top allowing for easy transport when little bookworms are old enough to tote around a few of their favorites.

Nonessential but still quite cute.