Playtime (BABY TOUCH & FEEL)
PreSchool-- Part object identification and part concept book documenting daily routines, these books offer the best of both worlds via colorful photographs. Bright colors are played against white backgrounds in well-balanced layouts that will attract young children. As babies and toddlers engage in bath, meal, and play activities, they look as though they're involved with their own agendas rather than posing, which gives the books zip. (But the children are just a little on the clean and tidy side, perhaps.) The youngsters (Asian, black, and Anglo) aren't confined by gender stereotypes; a girl plays with her train set, for example. The series' flexible structure accommodates several interesting digressions that greatly enhance the books' value and appeal: Look at Me' s exploration of body parts is interrupted by an excellent double-page spread in which a series of happy faces is followed by a series of sad faces, suggesting the vast variety within these two emotions. And in Mealtime, a whole unpeeled carrot complete with stem, leaves, and root is pictured next to carrot sticks; a whole apple and an apple half with seeds are shown next to apple slices. The books look simple, but they accomplish a lot. --Liza Bliss, formerly at Leominster Pub . Lib ., MACopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.