Crab Cab (Flip-A-Word Series)

These unique, interactive early-reading books invite children to flip the pages and — presto-change-o! — a different word and picture appear. The use of word families helps children grasp the connections between similar words, while Yukiko Kido's bright and inspired illustrations in a Japanese anime style set the Flip-a-Word series apart from other phonics books. Be sure to check out the rest of the series!

These unique, interactive early-reading books invite children to flip the pages and — presto-change-o! — a different word and picture appear. The use of word families helps children grasp the connections between similar words, while Yukiko Kido's bright and inspired illustrations in a Japanese anime style set the Flip-a-Word series apart from other phonics books. Be sure to check out the rest of the series!

Children's Literature

In this offering new readers meet the "ot" "ab" and "it" families. The book presents words that contain these characters such as "snot" and "tot." The pictures are large cartoon style characters often with cutouts that pick up elements from previous pages. They do offer humor, but some is a bit on the gross side. For the "ab" family words like "crab," "blab," and "cab" are introduced. Like the previous sections, the words are combined into a silly phrase "crab in a cab." For the "it" family there are words such as "mitt," "hit," and "knit." I am not sure how many of today's kids will encounter knitters, but the closing pages feature a knitted mitt and scarf. The words are all recapped on a closing page. The gimmick of the cut out is not that effective in the "flip-a Word" book. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot

Harriet Ziefert has been making magic with words for many years. She is the author of over 200 books for young readers. A mother of two and grandmother of five, she lives in South Orange, New Jersey.

Liz Murphy was born and raised in England and attended the Kingston Art College, where she majored in graphic design. She currently lives with her husband and two sons in Montclair, New Jersey. Liz has illustrated four other picture books for Blue Apple.