YOO-HOO! WHY, HELLO THERE!

Oh, excuse me. Yes, I am talking to you, dear reader, so blithely scrolling through these reviews! (please wave toward the screen if you can read this) Are you by chance seeking another interactive picture book to share with your little one? Maybe your hands are eager to clap, fingers are keen to tap, arms are primed to flap, but your eyes are tired of staring at some old app? Maybe you’ve already read and gushed over Herve Tullet’s Press Here and all the other books mentioned in these earlier reviews (click to read). Or maybe you’d really like a cat or dog, but are severely allergic?

If so, good news! (clap here) You might be interested in two new offerings published by minibombo: The Cat Book by Silvia Borando and The Dog Book by Lorenzo Clerici. Get ready to stroke, tickle, and squeeze your very own two-dimensional furry pet. From messy bath times to flea control, readers can experience it all! Well, almost all.

Now wiggle your fingers and click the book cover images to find these titles at your nearest Glendale/Pasadena library! (it’s basically magic)

Ages 2+

A BIG YAWN!

If everyone else is yawning, will it make you yawn too? Just try to avoid it when reading Everyone Is Yawning written and illustrated by Anita Bijsterbosch--it's not an easy feat! From snake to turtle, the youngest readers will delight in each page, as we lift up the flap to reveal what it looks like inside each animal's mouth when it yawns. And of course there's a glimpse of what it looks like when children yawn too! 

This simple but totally captivating interactive book featuring adorably bold illustrations is bound to be a crowd-pleaser and a favorite bedtime read for babies to preschoolers. As contagious as an actual yawn, this book is sure to be one that's asked for again and again. 

PLANT THE TINY SEED

It’s springtime again, and a new picture book by author-illustrator Christie Matheson is blossoming once more.

Following the success of Tap the Magic Tree (a storytime favorite for all ages!) and Touch the Brightest Star, Plant the Tiny Seed presents a simple interactive story of growing zinnias from seed to flower. As in previous books, readers are invited to tap, clap, wiggle, and rub images to progress the story. Nature is a marvel, and this book beckons to young listeners with the promise that magic is everywhere.

For a complete toddler-friendly gardening experience, check out Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert and Dig In! by Cindy Jenson-Elliott. To explore more interactive app-like picture books for a screen-free audience, look for Get Out of My Bath! by Britta Teckentrup, This Book Just Ate My Dog! by Richard Byrne (previously reviewed here), and books by Herve Tullet.

Ages 2+

APPLES AND ROBINS

All you need for apples are circles and the color red.

As summer ends, the apples in a tree hang just out of reach. What would you need reach the fruit? In this French import by Lucie Félix, cut-out shapes and bold colors ask and answer a series of questions to tell the story of an apple tree through the seasons.

The magic of this deceptively simple picture book is in the author’s ability to transform ordinary shapes and colors into tangible solutions. Six rectangles make a ladder. Two circles become an apple with a single missing bite. Three triangles, two circles, and an oval take flight as a red-breasted robin.

Apples and Robins invites young readers to exercise their problem solving abilities and imagine the potential in shapes. Pair with Christie Matheson’s delightful interactive book Tap the Magic Tree.

Ages 4+

ACTIVATE ROBO-BOOK!

BEEP BOOP BOOP BEEP. You've never seen a book quite like this before. Popular picture book author-and-illustrator team Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri are back with Robo-Sauce, an inventively hilarious story that packs a resounding robo-punch. 

Like many kids, the main character of this book loves to play robot... but what if there were a way to become a real robot--with lasers for eyes, rockets for feet, and a supercomputer for a brain--and never have to eat steamed beans or take baths ever again? Enter Robo-Sauce (recipe included)!

But the downside about real robots? It's hard for them to play with their friends or family or dog for fear of wreaking havoc on those they love with all that robot extra strength. So what's an all-powerful but ultimately lonely robot to do? 

This wildly entertaining story takes readers on an unexpectedly interactive ride, and the warning sticker on the book's cover--"WARNING THIS BOOK TURNS INTO A ROBOT"--is meant to be taken literally. It's a perfect read-aloud or one-on-one share for the preschool through second-grade set.  

THIS BOOK JUST ATE MY DOG!

It starts with a walk on an unexceptional day in a dusty gray city. Bella and her dog are ambling along when her dog mysteriously vanishes between the double-spread pages. Wait-- what just happened? Did this book just--? 
Yes, it did.

Subsequent rescue attempts lead to a chain of disappearances into the gutter of the very book you’re reading. Because, you’ll soon learn, this is no ordinary book. This is a book that eats pets. And people. And emergency response vehicles. Really, it’s not too picky as you can tell. Not all is lost, however. With a little guidance from our plucky heroine, you can help shake some sense into this book and save the day!

This Book Just Ate My Dog! by Richard Byrne is a perfect, humorous read aloud for preschoolers. With just a few words per page, it’s short and snappy, accompanied by adorable, emotive illustrations. It strolls into a genre of interactive metafictional books and dangerous-book books, and it finds a cozy seat (and a tasty snack). But compared to some of the more sinister anthropomorphized books out there, this Book is merely naughty: a mostly harmless, possibly petulant, jokester. Not to mention it also presents a superb opportunity to discuss the anatomy of a book.

For more dangerous picture book reads, try Open Very Carefully by Nick Bromley, Warning: Do Not Open This Book by Adam Lehrhaupt, or The Book That Eats People by John Perry. Fair warning, though, The Book That Eats People is especially devious, ravenous, and carnivorous; only the bravest (or most foolhardy) readers should attempt to subdue it.