Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Give and Take
Novelty Board Book
For ages 3 to 5
Candlewick Studio, 2016 ISBN: 978-0763690113
Over the years authors and illustrators have found many creative ways to help children explore and learn their opposites. They understand that they need to engage their audience if they want to successfully convey a concept to them. If they can entertain them at the same time then that is even better.
In this unique board novelty book Lucie Felix helps children to learn seven opposites by having them take moving pieces out of one piece of art and place those pieces into the next piece of art. For example, on the first page we see a round circle on the page and below it is the word “take.” We remove the circle from its housing, turn the page, and there we see a picture of a yellow hand that is open. There is a space in the hand that is ready and waiting for the red circle to be placed there. Above the picture of the hand is the word “give.” We have taken the red circle from one page and given it to the hand on the next.
Next we “break” a red square into two triangles and then use them to “build” a picture of two houses on the next page.
Children will be fascinated to see how they can go from page to page in this book, moving shapes as they go, and how, when they get to the end of the book, they can reverse the process so that all the shapes end up back where they belong. When they do this, the book “will be ready for the next time.”
With sturdy board pages and easy to place shapes, this board book gives children a wonderful, interactive learning experience.
