Jennifer Lum

When I pulled out the book Checkers and Dot my three year old screamed: "It's mine!", grabbed the book and sat back to read it. Suffice it say, I read copious books to her every night and she rarely has this reaction for any book presented to her.

I really thought this book was too young for her, but we've had a great time reading the simple story. The book Checkers and Dot is a board book with black and white graphics introducing a girl, boy, dog and cat. The words and story are simple, more show more for a baby. The graphics are great for new babies as their eyesight is adjusting.

After reading the book, we took the story a bit further. What happened to the boy? The girl? The cat? The dog? We made up new stories using the pictures and I got my child to tell me about her day and friends using the graphics.

We have had this book for a few days now, and it's still a load of fun. Who knew a black and white board book could be so entertaining? show less

The simple black and white images and patterns in this book are definitely the winner--it was a great hit visually with both the three year old and the 6 week old! However, the written portion of this book leaves a lot to be desired; it hovers somewhere between rhyme and not-rhyme and is, to put it succinctly, pretty boring. There are lots of board books out there that manage to magically combine a few simple words and phrases into something beautiful, silly, memorable...but this book does show more not do that for me. Fun to look at, though! show less

The illustrations of this board book are adorable. Being targeted toward such a young age group, ultimately that must be the most important consideration. The black-and-white characters come to life and engage the reader. That being said, the text in uninspired and wouldn't bear repeated reading and the book's construction could better lend itself to the unforgiving manipulations of tiny hands.

The digitally rendered black & white illustrations in this board book are bold and high-contrast, and therefore perfect for the developing eyes of babies and toddlers. I enjoyed this book with my 5-month-old granddaughter, and although I remain somewhat skeptical about its value in teaching the concepts of stripes, checkers, dots and spots, the illustrations certainly captured her attention. There is some text, but it adds little to the overall impact of the book. The book is strong and show more well-bound, and appears that it would withstand the chewing and throwing that comes with preschool territory. Checkers and Dots is the first in a series of black and white board books featuring the same slate of characters, and would make a good addition to a baby's first collection. show less