Big science for tiny tots: High Chair Chemistry by Jill Esbaum

There are a lot of board books published ostensibly for children but actually aimed at adults. I put in those categories most of those "Jane Eyre for infants" and "physics for babies" titles. You know what I'm referring to. That was what I'd expected with this new series, but it turned out to actually work really well, albeit somewhat differently than a traditional board book.

The art is composed of photographs, mostly infants in the 4-6 month age range, with a diversity of races. An Asian male and a Latina are shown at two points with the infants. Plain yellow and orange backgrounds, some decorated with household items like spoons or a bib, are placed behind the bulk of the text. The text, shown in different sizes, ranges from simple questions and statements "Are you hungry?" to the kind of talking a caregiver would do with a small child "Mixing cereal and water made something new. Doesn't it look gooood?" There are eight simple definitions of concepts, placed in small type at the bottom of pages, throughout the book "Viscosity (noun): how quickly or slowly a fluid moves in response to an outside force" and these are connected to the photos, actions, and description of the spreads. A note to the parents at the back of the book gives general guidelines for helping little ones explore science through everyday experiences.

Now, if you try to read this book straight through with an infant or toddler, it's not going to work. Even the simplified definitions are preschool level at the very least. What the book does do, is to give caregivers a pattern for talking and exploring with the infants while they have everyday experiences and give the simple science behind these everyday actions. The adult will have the background information to inform their conversation while the baby benefits from talking and interaction with an adult.

Verdict: This new series is both developmentally appropriate in modeling actions and conversations with babies while giving adult caregivers simple science explanations that they will be able to weave into their conversation and use to talk with children as they grow older and explore the world around them. A unique series, strongly recommended for most libraries.

ISBN: 9781536229660; Published May 2023 by Mit Kids Press; Borrowed from another library in my consortium