FIRST 101 WORDS

A large-format board book with 101 photographs of items including animals, vehicles, and body parts.

The book’s approach is straightforward: It contains pages of labeled photographs arranged by category. Some of the images are printed on flaps that encourage readers to identify colors, numbers, shapes, and sounds. For those looking to save shelf space, it condenses what could have been eight books into one. The items themselves are largely familiar to young readers—things found at home, during mealtime, and outdoors—in addition to the usual suspects such as trucks and animals. A cartoon bird, introduced as the guide on the front cover, poses questions to readers on each page: “Which picture shows four?” It’s a nice touch and helps boost interaction. The photographs themselves are clear and brightly colored against solid backgrounds in neatly aligned blocks. While the design makes the pages appear busy, it’s not completely overwhelming. Aside from the adorable Asian baby on the cover, the very last spread is the only one with photographs of people, and it includes both a white baby with Down syndrome and a couple babies of color. Overall, no gimmicks, nothing overdone—it succeeds in its purpose.

Grab this one instead of a multitude of narrowly focused, lesser-quality picture dictionaries for babies.