What Is This?

What is this? A hose becomes a snake, a clothes peg transforms into a crocodile, and some candies turn into a trail of creepy-crawlies in this colorful book for the youngest readers. Ideal for reading aloud, the repeated question — what is this? — inspires children to respond. And once they've had their say, turning the page presents some surprising answers! Antje Damm’s lively text and whimsical artwork encourages little ones to look twice at familiar objects.

Publishers Weekly

Buttons become pig noses and a kitchen faucet turns into a swan under Damm's inventive hand. This appealing title, in line with Damm's Ask Me, invites readers to imagine what ordinary objects could become, given the addition of some paint, paper or clay. The titular question is cleverly scripted against monochromatic backgrounds in ways that relate to photographs of various items on the facing page (the words are written in flour opposite a slice of bread, and composed of pollen grains across from an orange daisy). The subsequent spreads reveal how Damm re-envisions each object: following a photo of a piece of Swiss cheese, a page flip reveals a cow created entirely from cheese, with the holes becoming spots. Three wooden spoons turn into a family of chickens with the digital addition of beaks, wattles and combs, and with a bit of clay, a seeded kaiser roll transforms into a turtle. This compact volume will easily prompt children to reconsider everyday objects-and maybe indulge in some arts and crafts. Ages 2-5. (Apr.)