‘A Good Day’, ‘A Day on the Farm’ and ‘Indestructibles’

Parents and educators recognize the value of reading to infants and toddlers. As publishers produce more and more books for tiny tots, quality varies. Some “infant” books simply reprint, on cardboard, picture books appropriate for older preschoolers. Here are several first books that are successful.

“A Good Day” gives each of four animals a simple problem: a lost feather, a dropped nut. Each problem is then solved: a nut found, a new feather grown. Simple text consists of a single sentence per spread. The characters, clearly outlined in the art, stand out against pretty backgrounds. This book can “grow” with the child. Babies won’t relate the lost feather on page 3 with the new feather on page 18, but through repeated re-reading they’ll “discover” the connections. (Even better would have been putting the problems on left-hand pages and the solutions on right-hand pages, so that a reader could lay the book flat, hold up the middle section, and see both related pictures at once.) At the end, a little girl finds the original, lost feather, bringing closure to a very good day.

“A Day on the Farm” offers a dawn-to-dusk visit filled with tactile treats. Fabric embedded in the cardboard pages gives each animal a different texture: a lamb’s fluffy wool, a horse’s furry tummy, a piglet’s smooth skin, and more. The varying fabrics give the pages varying weights; expect a toddler to try to pry the thicker pages apart. The book’s sturdy construction should withstand this exploration. Cartoon-style illustrations place a broad smile on every face, even the sun and moon. Bright colors, clear images, and a cheerful presentation make this a happy visit.

“Indestructibles” are a series of wordless books labeled as “chew proof, rip proof, nontoxic, 100 percent washable.” They resemble the canvas picture books of 50-plus years ago but adhere to recent toy safety guidelines. “Flutter! Fly!” pictures 11 birds and bugs. “Creep! Crawl” introduces 11 small creatures on the ground. “Wiggle! March!” features eleven familiar farm animals. All are friendly; some are even smiling. Spider and caterpillar have demure eyelashes, while an earthworm sports sunglasses. In each book, nearly all the animals are looking directly at the reader, which will increase a child’s interest in the pictures. The lack of text allows a baby and read-aloud adult to set a comfortable pace, flipping the pages or lingering over individual pictures. Tots will soon have their own favorites.