Do Crocodiles Moo?

The creator of the successful FLAPPY Bright and playful, these are the question-and-response games that toddlers demand to have read and re-read over and over again. Amanda Leslie's lift-the-flaps create scores of humorous and improbable situations-just the kind to which children will want to shout "Noooo!" and then supply the right answer. The format gently but effectively expands vocabulary and reinforces the association of adjectives with a host of animals. Very attractively priced, sporting sturdy hardcover bindings, and all-around friendly: this pair of titles is a keeper!

Children's Literature

This brightly colored, sturdy lift-the-flap book poses a series of questions that will test young listeners' knowledge of colors and animal sounds. The opening question "Are elephants orange?" is placed opposite a disgruntled-looking orange elephant. Lift the flap and we see a smiling orange goldfish and the answer, "No, but goldfish are!" As an added bonus for those who knew that elephants are gray—and to inform those who did not—the elephant is pictured below the goldfish, smiling now and the correct color, with "gray" written beside him. This pattern continues throughout the book, which covers a wide range of animals, including a horse, a sheep, a mouse, a flamingo, a crocodile and a zebra. The final question, "Do children like to shout and sing?" provides a nice twist for the end of the book. Of course the answer to this one is a resounding "Yes!" 2000, Handprint Books, . Ages 2 to 4. Reviewer: Barbara Maitland