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!

Keep It Simple

Taro Gomi

Japanese author and artist Taro Gomi proves the power of simplicity when it comes to board books. Peekaboo! is mostly about encouraging the interplay between parent and child, or grandparent and child, or older sibling and child. The book itself becomes the conduit for a game of peekaboo.

His simplicity is easy to take for granted, yet it shows his mastery for connecting with his audience. He uses an animal or creature's prominent feature to define it. The bulging eyes of a frog set atop its head, the large round ears that dominate a mouse's triangular face. He uses solid colors and rudimentary shapes. The tickle monster is a purple blob ("I like to tickle. I am a monster"), and it looks cuddly rather than creepy because of two baby teeth and a popsicle-pink tongue hanging out. (Gomi uses this same strategy in Mommy! Mommy!: the bright pink comb atop the chicken's head becomes the identifying characteristic that leads the chicks to their mother, who's playing hide-and-seek with them.)

The die-cut holes in Peekaboo! allow adults or older siblings to look out at babies and toddlers through the eyes of the frog, mouse or tickle monster (and then segue into a tickle game, of course). It's such a simple idea, yet so rarely well executed. The design allows a baby to focus on the consistent placement of the eyes, the stated "fact" for each creature ("I like to eat cheese. I am a mouse"), and to "master" the tool of prediction. Bravo!