I Say, You Say Animal Sounds and I Say, You Say Opposites!

Review By HUYEN MACMICHAEL

You say, “Fun?” I say, “A hoot!”

The reason I got these two board-like books for review was obvious when I found my six-year-old reading them aloud to my five-month-old. That was exactly what I hoped would happen when I left them sitting out. The reading level is much too easy for my six-year-old but she was clearly feeling helpful by entertaining her brother (who didn’t really care too much about the books as he was busily stuffing something else in his face) and it increased her self-confidence in her newly acquired reading skills.

You say, “Ages 0-3?” I say, “Neigh!”

The books are geared towards kids ages 0-3 (supposedly ideal for my six month old) but I have some worries they would not withstand the mistreatment of the extremely young, especially as the pages are not as thick as typical boardbooks. They are more like super glossy card-stock-thickness pages. (Of course I’ve seen my share of bitten, drool-soaked board books that have been attacked by teething babies so they are not impervious to damage either.) The lift-the-flaps are fun and entertaining but are vulnerable to unintended bends and folds that the pre-literate set tend to inflict on them. Not to mention, they lift and flap in a variety of directions so it can be frustrating to little ones who expect them to go only one direction. Older siblings do not seem to have much difficulty with the changing flaps. The glossiness is good for wiping off drool and other messes though! And the colors and illustrations are cheerfully appropriate and engaging for this age. I especially love the call-and-response style which encourages interaction and interest in early reading.

You say, “Stop.” I say, “Go… read!”