Give & Take

This ingenious, sturdy board book by French author-illustrator Lucie Félix (Apples and Robins) not only looks like it belongs in a modern art-museum bookstore, it will also appeal to toddlers' curious fingers and creative minds. Readers pry out shapes as suggested on each page: "TAKE" (a red circle floats on a white background, with a divot for a tiny finger). Turn the page, shape still in hand, for another instruction: "GIVE." Press the shape into a just-right indent, creating a new picture, in this case, of a hand holding a red ball. The instructions, with different shapes, continue with conceptual opposites: "BREAK/BUILD," "OPEN/CLOSE," ending with "TAKE APART/PUT BACK TOGETHER!" But the fun is only half over--now it's time for readers to play their way back, returning shapes to their original spots for next time.

Give & Take is ideal for children just entering the world of reading. No need to tell them they're building small motor skills and learning about shape recognition, sorting and opposites! --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor

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