MY BOOK OF OPPOSITES

An appealing but potentially confusing concept book about opposites.

Cheerful animal characters help to present basic opposites such as big/small and fast/slow. Initially, it seems that the size of the print is supposed to help convey meaning—on the first spread “Big,” accompanying the picture of an elephant, is printed in enormous letters, while “Small” appears in diminutive type next to a bee, and in the second spread, “Loud” appears in large type next to a group of monkeys, while “Quiet” is printed in tiny letters next to a butterfly. The pattern doesn’t hold up, though, as the next page arbitrarily presents “Hairy” in large type and “Smooth” in small print. Confusion appears elsewhere as well; for example, the “loud” monkeys, with mouths closed, appear more serene than raucous. With an adult to help sort out the concepts, though, children will enjoy this title for its standout illustrations; bold, appealing animals are set in interesting positions on solid backgrounds that appear as though they might have been colored by crayon. A companion title, Counting, presents more adorable animals to illustrate numerical concepts and asks readers to identify and count them.  

Not the best for clarifying concepts but too visually striking to ignore.