Can You Keep a Straight Face?
Written by Elisa Géhin
Illustrated by Bernard Duisit
Thames and Hudson 1/31/2016
978-0-500-65091-2
16 pages Ages 4—7

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“Can you keep a straight mouth?
Can you keep a straight nose?
Can you keep straight eyes?

“Children take the driver’s seat in Can You Keep a Straight Face? a new book packed with interactive tabs and playfully illustrated funny faces that move like magic. Each spread challenges young readers to test what faces they can make by pulling, pushing, and twisting creatively placed tabs that will get their minds going and create a hands-on learning experience.” [PRESS RELEASE]

Review
[WC 124]
Can You Keep a Straight Face? Not if you are a character in this interactive board book. Pull a tab down and the grouchy man in the first spread smiles nicely. A little girl closes her eyes while her pigtails flip down by her shoulders. Pull up a tab and a worried man turns sour and testy. Each spread has a different set of emotions on the faces of its character. Young children will love pulling and pushing, flipping and twisting these tabs to make the faces change. Recognizing each new face may take parental help. Can you Keep a Straight Face? is an interesting book. It has the ability to help young children understand some of the faces people make, especially adult faces.

This or That?
Written by Delphine Chedru
Illustrated by Bernard Duisit
Thames and Hudson 1/31/2016
978-0-500-65093-6
16 pages Ages 4—7

“Which is better? A dog . . . or a cat?
Which is better? Sun . . . or moon?
Which is better?

“This or That? is a new book packed with interactive tabs and playful illustrations that engages children with their opinions and preferences. Each spread offers young readers a choice revealed by pulling, pushing, and twisting creatively placed tabs that will get their minds going and create a hands-on learning experience.” [PRESS RELEASE]

Review
[WC 108]
This or That? What child does not like aimals? This board books, with all the interactive tabs, will get children making decisions, rather than the perfunctory, “I don’t care.” “Which is better? A dog or cat?” Touch question for me. I love them both. “Which is better?” A chicken or egg, summer or winter, a spoon or a fork? Various objects, including animals, get children using their brain to make decisions. Making all of these choices for themselves might gice young children the confidence to believe in their own choices, and give voice to those choices. Of course, after several readings/playing/deciding parents might wish for, “I don’t care.”

What’s Up?
Written by Olivia Cosneau
Illustrated by Bernard Duisit
Thames and Hudson 1/31/2016
978-0-500-65092-9
16 pages Ages 4—7

“Hey little owl, what’s up?
I’m waking up.

Hey parient puffin, what’s up?
I’m diving.

Hey proud peacock, what’s up?
I’m making a fan.

“What’s Up? a new book packed with interactive tabs and playful illustrations of brightly colored birds Each spread offers young readers to a new kind of bird and activity by pulling, pushing, and twisting creatively placed tabs that will get their minds going and create a hands-on learning experience.” [PRESS RELEASE]

Review
[WC 231]
What’s Up? “Hey pretty flamingos, what’s up? We’re dancing.” Sure enough, pull the tab with the arrow pointing outward and those flamingos dance their pretty feather wings flip[ing back-and-forth. Pull another tab in a semi-circle and the peacock shows off its blue and green feathers. My favorite in this creative board book is the woodpecker. He is diligently poking a whole in the tree. I can hear him, “Tik, tik, tik.” Of these three board books, all of which children will love owning and reading, is What’s Up? I think this one has the most engineered and constructive creations. Save the red-breasted robin for last. It is simply amazing.

Amazing is the perfect word for these three books illustrated by French paper engineer Bernard Duisit. The one and only draw-back is the same thing that makes these books shine—the tabs. Some of the tabs are tight, making them difficult to pull out or twist. I truly had difficulty with more than a few of these tabs. Children will become frustrated if they cannot make these spreads move. While the pages are thicker than a normal book, they are not as strong a sthe cardboard books young children are used to handling. Parents will want to at least guide the process until the tabs loosen up. Still, I would not let this stop me from acquiring these incredibly creative Flip Flap Pop Up Series board books.

CAN YOU KEEP A STRAIGHT FACE?—THIS OR THAT?—WHAT’S UP?. Text copyright © 2017 by Elisa Géhin, Delphine Chedru, and Olivia Cosneau. Illustrations copyright © 2017 by Bernard Duisit. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Thames and Hudson, New York, NY.

Can You Keep a Straight Face?: Amazon—Indie Books—Thames and Hudson
This or That?:  Amazon—Indie Books—Thames and Hudson
What’s Up?:  Amazon—Indie Books—Thames and Hudson

Add Can You Keep a Straight Face? to Your Goodreads Shelf HERE.
Add This or That? to Your Goodreads Shelf HERE.
Add What’s Up? to Your Goodreads Shelf HERE.

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Reprinted with permission from CAN YOU KEEP A STRAIGHT FACE? © 2017 by Elisa Géhin; THIS OR THAT? © 2017 by Delphine Chedru; WHAT’S UP? © 2017 by Olivia Cosneau, Thames and Hudson. Illustrations © 2017 by Bernard Duisit.

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Copyright © 2017 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

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