Opposites

Children's Literature

The "First Concepts" series includes several books that are all set up with lift-the-flaps constructions in order to create an interactive learning environment. Nothing is wasted. The end papers show a delightful bunch of kids with text that reflects the concepts—clean/dirty, hot/cold, boy/girl, etc. The inside note to parents sums things up pretty well, "Children learn more in their preschool years than at any other time in their lives...The best way to use this book is to encourage children to talk about the objects and how they relate to their world." The goal is to help them understand the concept and simultaneously improve their communication skills. The opposites pairs are fairly typical—full/empty, thick/thin, above/below, closed/open and more. What makes this book a treat are the flaps and the way the information is presented. For the thick/thin combination, the flap is quite small and at the top of the letter "T" when lifted it does indeed reveal a thin rather than a thick rope. On the page teaching left versus right, the yellow arrow points left when that word is revealed and when the flap is lifted and pressed down, it points right and reveals the appropriate word. The book is clever, fun, and educational. It is a good choice for home, but problematic for libraries due to the flaps which could be torn, although the pages are quite sturdy. 2002, St Martin's Press,
— Marilyn Courtot