Board books are meant for little ones, often read to babies on laps or looked at by toddlers who teethe on the corners as much as they gaze at the pages. With Salina Yoon’s new interactive board book Pinwheel, little ones will be intrigued by bright colors and engaging patterns.
At each turn of the page, little ones or parents can spin the tab at the side to create a movement of the picture– from shining lights on a train to an array of colors on a school of fish to a sky full of colorful fireworks. The text includes just one or two short sentences on each two-page spread, but the language chosen is actually quite descriptive and beautiful. I believe in using rich language with even the youngest language-learners, so I was happy to see passages like, “Field of flowers gently swaying. Bees a-buzzing, prancing, playing.”
Though I have no babies or toddlers of my own at home, I love to keep a small selection of board books at the ready for visits from friends with younger children. Recently, I scooped up my pal’s eighteen-month old son into my lap and pulled out this book. He immediately stopped wiggling on me and reached for the book. I only needed to show him once how to spin the inside panels, and from that point on, he would move my fingers out of the way to do it himself. He even exclaimed, “Oh!” at one of the pages! His engaged interest lasted longer than I had expected, making me declare Pinwheel as a big hit for the toddler set.
Dawn’s picture book addiction is indulged every day as a parent and a preschool teacher. Every once in a while, she blogs away at my thoughts exactly.