NOISY ANIMAL SEARCH AND FIND

A busy board book of critters and creatures in five habitats.

Animals that live in five broadly defined and geographically unrestricted environments—forests, sun, cold, in the ocean, and in a pond—are labeled on five spreads. For example, “In the Forest” includes a deer, a panda, a monkey, a leopard, and a sloth—animals that inhabit very different woodlands and even continents. A two-line rhyme on the left invites readers to identify the dozen-plus cartoon animals in each category. Across the bottom of each spread, thumbnail drawings spotlight eight animals and include questions to encourage study of the larger picture. Two animals on each spread are equipped with sound-producing buttons. The owl and tiger on the front cover are also singled out with sound buttons, making a total of 12 embedded sounds. Because the sound buttons are always on the recto, even young children quickly learn to search there, with the result that the animals on the left may be ignored. Differentiating ocean creatures from pond dwellers makes sense, though the difference between salt- and freshwater habitats is not mentioned. The purpose here is simply to name the animals. Bright, busy backgrounds, small pictures, and the large number of animals shown per page make this best for one-on-one sharing.

There’s not much information, but it’s fun for a bit.