Igloo Books

First sentence: Look! It's a Seahorse! Can you pet its scaly tummy? What does it look like? What does it feel like? Look! It's a seashell! Try rubbing it with your fingertips! What does it feel like? What does it sound like?

Premise/plot: On the surface, this appears to be a fairly straightforward interactive touch and feel book for young readers. And in some ways it does deliver that. The ocean setting may make it more unique than other touch and feel books, but, it also offers some show more limitations...for more literal thinkers.

My thoughts: I always want to love touch and feel books. They are my favorite types of board books to read and review. I love the tactile, textures. I love the interactive experience. I hope for the best each time.

Some readers may not care that there's not much authentic truth in this one. It seems silly to care that none of the "sensory" objects line up with reality in any way shape or form. But some of the interactive sensory elements just seem lazy in my personal opinion. The sea shell spread, for example, is particularly horrible. If you care about details. No sea shell *sounds* like that sound. And no sea shell looks like that either. A few spreads don't seem to even try. Asking readers to feel essentially smooth paper and pretend its a sensory experience. No "petting" an illustrated jellyfish isn't sensory anything.

Little ones probably don't care. And some spreads do seem to be engaging in one way or another--visually, for example. show less

First sentence: Look! It's a puppy! Can you pet his soft, furry ear? what does it look like? what does it feel like? Look! it's a cat! Can you scratch her tall scratching post, too? What does it feel like? What does it sound like?

Premise/plot: What you see IS what you get. This is a pet-themed touch and feel book. It stars a dog, a cat, a fish, some rabbits, and a bird. Some of the interaction comes from the pets themselves--or sometimes the environment.

My thoughts: I read Sensory Pets show more first. For the most part--four out of five spreads--I greatly appreciated it and found it solidly pleasing. The last one is a little questionable. But for the most part a HUGE quality difference from the Sensory Ocean which I reviewed earlier today. show less

On this giant spinning ball live eight billion people, all in all. A bear can be quite proud to call each and every one a friend. Every single person in this world is special and different from everyone else. This sweet story about a bear looking for a friend is a celebration of our amazing diversity, and of all the things that make each of us unique.

First sentence: The morning birds wake us together at dawn. "Daddy, I love you," I sleepily yawn.

Premise/plot: A lion and his cub spend the day together. This board book is written in rhyming verse.

My thoughts: This one was originally published in the UK. I couldn't figure out if it was also published in the U.S. or if the library just ordered it from the UK. It is cutesy and adorable. If that's your favorite kind of board book, then this one should appeal. If you are drawn to the cover, show more then you'll appreciate the interior illustrations as well. show less