Strawberries Are Red

StrawberriesAreRed

Image Credit: Candlewick Press, Petr Horáček

This is such a charming little board book! Reading it puts a smile on my face so I hope little ones will love it just as much.

A simple concept executed well can make a memorable book and board books that keep it simple are usually the most effective for learning. In Strawberries Are Red, children can make a fruit salad while learning colors and fruits. Simple sentences like “Oranges are orange” are paired with vibrant watercolor and crayon illustrations. The crayon-resist watercolor illustrations really glow. The light outline of the crayon helps the fruit to stand out against the rich watercolor washes. So pretty!

I love the way Horáček designed the book. When you flip each page, you can see the fruit from the page before, building up fruits until the last page where suddenly…all the fruits are in a bowl! Yummy! Check out Strawberries Are Red; it’s perfect for summertime. Now I want a fruit salad…

 

Recommended for: Babies and Toddlers
Great for: Contrast, Colors, Fruit, First Concepts
Book Info: Strawberries Are Red by Petr Horáček, 2002 Candlewick Press, ISBN: 9780763614614

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Orange Pear Apple Bear

OrangePearAppleBear

Image Credit: Little Simon (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers), Emily Gravett

This chunky board book is smart and the illustrations are beautiful. On the surface it’s a simple word-picture association book for early vocabulary learning but then…things get funky as Gravett starts to MIX IT UP! Bear has the best expressions. Have you ever seen an Apple Bear? I sure haven’t! But he doesn’t seem to mind too much and keeps on juggling the fruit until…he gets a little hungry!

The watercolor illustrations in Orange Pear Apple Bear are vibrant and sure to attract your baby’s attention. The use of white space draws the eye to the images, making them pop. Blotchy colors and sketchy strokes bring bear and the fruits to life. Bear is a cute and curious guy, and your family will enjoy his antics!

P.S. Once again, clever use of the front and end endpapers! Shouldn’t leave tasty fruit uneaten, right?

OrangePearAppleBear2

Image Credit: Little Simon (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers), Emily Gravett

 

Recommended for: Babies and Toddlers
Great for: Early Learning, Animals, Vocabulary, Word Association, Colors, Shapes, Humor, Foods, Fruit, Rhyme, Read-Aloud
Book Info: Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett, 2011 Little Simon (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers), ISBN: 9781442420038