Read, Read, Read, said the Baby: Elephants Spray by Rebecca Glaser, design by Deb Miner

This board book is super simple and yet, that's just what I look for when filling my shelves for the youngest of my patrons.

Each spread features a photograph, covering three quarters of the opened book, which shows an elephant performing an action. A soft peach column is the background for the accompanying text which describes the action and the reason. An elephant walking through the forest with trunk lifted high is accompanied with the text "Sniff, sniff!" in large, white text and in smaller letters, "He smells food."

The book is a simple, sturdy square and the soft colors are offset with simple designs of squares and small stripes.

This is part of a series featuring animals performing various actions, including lions, dolphins, monkeys, and more. There are also sets with machines and farm animals. My one quibble is characterizing the animals as "he" - that seems to be the default in board books and picture books featuring animals and it's unnecessary (and often inaccurate) but hopefully the other books mix it up a little.

Verdict: Affordable, sturdy, developmentally suited to infants and toddlers, this and the other titles in the series are a great investment in your board book section and will fill your shelves nicely.

ISBN: 9781681520681; Published 2016 by Amicus Ink; Borrowed from another library in my consortium