Read, Read, Read said the Baby: Peekaboo! by cocoretto

Peekaboo is always a fascinating game for babies and these delightful board books take the game to a new dimension with flaps, guessing, and bright, cheerful colors.

Peekaboo! In the Ocean features a dolphin, octopus, turtle, seal and crab. They are all doing fairly typical activities - the dolphin is splashing, the crab is digging, etc.

Peekaboo! On the Farm includes a horse, chickens, sheep, cow and dog. All but the chickens are active; leaping, chasing, or galloping.

Peekaboo! In the Jungle shows a tiger, parrot, monkey, frog and crocodile. Their actions are a little more diverse, from monkey swinging to crocodile yawning and includes a couple sounds; parrot squawking and frog croaking.

Peekaboo! In the Snow features a more vague selection of animals; polar bear, reindeer, penguin, snow leopard, and wolf. This title includes one sound - wolf howling - and generally sticks to the leaping/climbing formula.

All of the books have the same structure. The left page of the spread says "Peekaboo! Who's there?" while the right shows the animal with its hands, legs, or flippers over its face. The hiding face is a flap; while it is almost the size of a complete page, it has a curved edge along the gutter, which makes it easy to lift. Beneath the flap is a picture of the animal in action and the accompanying text "Monkeys swinging!" or "Chickens clucking!" and so on.

The art is bright and colorful, featuring bold shapes and outlines in the animals' pictures against vibrant backgrounds. The high contrast in colors and shapes make the simple actions easy to follow. The books themselves are a typical 7x7 square and made out a thin but durable cardboard. The hinge of the flap does not look at all sturdy to me; I think excessive wear (and in my library all wear is almost immediately excessive) will rip the flap off. However, a sturdy pieces of library tape down the spine should reinforce it enough for many circulations to come.

Verdict: This series includes cheerful, child-friendly pictures and text and playfully encourages children to participate in a favorite game. The enjoyment is worth the possible damage. Recommended.

Published 2016 by Child's Play; Review copies provided by publisher; Donated to the library

In the snow
ISBN: 9781846438653

In the jungle
ISBN: 9781846438660

On the farm
ISBN: 9781846438646

In the ocean
ISBN: 9781846438677