Read, Read, Read said the Baby: Little Owl's Colors and Little Owl's 1 2 3 by Divya Srinivasan

My personal favorite of Srinivasan's work is her book Octopus Alone but patrons are much more into the Little Owl series so I'm quite happy to see they've been made into simple concept board books.

Little Owl's Colors features both day and night spreads, each one focuses on the different colors. For example, the blue/green spread has a blue pond and dragonflies on the left and a green frog on green grass on the right. The color words (green, blue, etc.) are colored to match and the color is printed in a larger font at the top of the page.

Little Owl's 1 2 3 is all night backgrounds. Unlike the previous title, it doesn't count everything in each spread, only one set of creatures. For example, on the four page, it lists the four possums but doesn't count the four snails. Most pages only have one set of creatures to count though anyways. The numbers are boldly printed at the top of the page and then written out in the sentence.

The illustrations are Srinivasan's trademark bold, digital shapes and colors. The covers here don't do justice to the actual vibrant shades by the way. There's no doubt about picking out colors or counting creatures and she does an excellent job of simple backgrounds and uncluttered spreads, perfect for developing eyes.

The books are a slightly smaller, 6x6 size, with thin but sturdy pages and glossy finish.

Verdict: These are great adaptations of picture books and also stand well on their own. They're developmentally appropriate, of interest to babies and toddlers, and would make great selections for one on one book play or a baby storytime. They'd be good inspirations for a flannel board as well. Highly recommended.

Published 2015 by Viking/Penguin; Review copies provided by publisher; Donated to the library

Little Owl's Colors
ISBN: 9780451474568

Little Owl's 1 2 3
ISBN: 9780451474544