Heads and Tails by Madeleine Deny, illus. Peggy Nile

Heads and Tails is a Let’s Step™ Books to Grow On book that encourages active participation in the reading of the book. Peggy Nile’s delightful illustrations reflect those animals drawn by Richard Scarry. A board book, each page is cut out into the shape of an animal. Babies and toddlers will learn different animals by flipping each page, revealing the next animal. From the smallest mouse to the largest elephant, each animal asks, “But who comes next?” Each animal is also associated with a sound, and keywords are highlighted in bold. “Splash! The frog jumps into the water!”

Chronicle’s new imprint, Twirl, contains a plethora of immersive, educational and fun books for babies and toddlers. Heads and Tails is the perfect book for ages 0 to 3 that combines bright colors, animals, and sounds.

Watch the adorable video demonstrating the best way to read Heads and Tails from Chronicle Books.

Let's Play! by Hervé Tullet

Are you ready…to play? From the creator of Press Here and Mix It Up, interactive stories for children that explore color theory, Herve Tullet’s brand new book Let’s Play! explores emotions and the sheer excitement of playing with color and line.

If you are not familiar with his first two books for babies and toddlers, prepare to get your hands messy. Don’t be shy—when the yellow dot asks you to “Press the top corner to get me started,” put your finger on the page! Yellow dot is the main star of Let’s Play and will guide you and your child on a rollercoaster ride through the book. 

Expect to play hide-and-seek in a forest of trees with blue and red leaves, roll into a dark tunnel, and tiptoe up the stairs. You will flip, turn, and “clap your hands twice and say za-za-zoommm!” Yellow dot might even accidentally bounce off the page and into your hair! Finally, with the help of Yellow dot, your child will learn to STOP at a red light, and GO at a green light.

Tullet breaks the boundaries normally found in a picture book. Reading becomes interactive and playful. The story can only happen with the child’s finger pressing on the page and following the instructions. In Let’s Play, get ready to encounter a world of excitement, conquer obstacles, and explore fears (heights and dark places) in a way that will have your child begging to play one more time.

Hervé Tullet, author and artist of LET'S PLAY!

Exuberance

Mary Murphy

When we think of Mary Murphy's books, the word exuberance leaps to mind. Say Hello Like This!, her most recent book for toddlers, emits joy.

As with her I Kissed the Baby!, readers want to follow in line with her characters. She makes you want to kiss a baby and to say hello to every living creature. In Hello Like This!, the animals' joy and playfulness are infectious, from the "licky and loud" dogs ("bow-wow-wow-wow!") to the "silly and happy" hello of the straw-hatted donkeys ("Hee-haw! Hee-haw!"). Delicious sounds teach toddlers new words. They will soon be saying "flappy and clucky" to describe a chicken and "jumpy and croaky" when they spot a frog.

Half-page flaps--thick and durable enough for little hands to hold and turn again and again--chart the creatures' transitions from still and stationary to bursting with excitement and movement. Frogs sitting and gazing at each other from their respective lily pads, with a turn of the page, leap into the air while exclaiming, "croakety croak"! A pair of cats greet each other with a more refined paw-to-paw "purrrrrr... meow."

Murphy's artwork, with its bold outlines and colors, pull young eyes into the pages, searching for hidden details, such as a pair of birds or mice that observe the action. Children will soak up every detail and exclaim, "Again! Again!"