Taking It Easy!

Nursery World

Following on from the success of its Just Like Me series comes the Just Like Us set of books. Simply fold out the flap to discover who is behaving like the animals in the pictures. The repeat phrase changes in each book, so Polar bears cuddle closely - just like us!' and 'Elephants was each other - so can we! As with the first series, this set has lots of strong, bright colours, cute characters and simple, hard-to-beat repeat phrases.

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

Animals and young children share many common characteristics, and this board book illustrates that affinity with nature. The pictures show animals undertaking a variety of activities, such as a pair of tortoises dawdling. Lifting the almost full page size flap reveals two toddlers looking a bit dazed as they walk along together. The comparisons continue with lizards basking, seals snoozing, hippos yawning, and cheetah cubs curling up together. I am not sure whether the point is to show that toddlers are like little animals or animals are like toddlers, but kids will enjoy the pictures, and this may be a useful book to help wind down an active day. The back cover states that "Sharing, helping and having fun with friends are all important life skills"—and while the claim is that these books are designed to encourage babies and toddlers to talk about and explore these activities, it may not be accomplished without further explanation by caregivers. This book is part of the "Just Like Us!" series. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot