Children’s flap and touch-and-feel book about babies, colours and clothing
The hardest thing about reviewing children’s books is that we read so many, so many times over, that it is really difficult to keep track of what I have already reviewed. I use the The StoryGraph app (highly recommend as an alternative to Goodreads) but I don’t have the time or energy to log each time we read a book, and I’ve been finding that I’ve been moving baby books into storage before I’ve actually had a chance to read them, like this one. This was an early find at the Lifeline Bookfair – possibly the first time I ever took my baby. I had heard somewhere that baby books with photographs of real babies were beneficial (though it’s unclear if research fully supports this) and this looked like a fun way to learn about colours as well.
‘Rainbow Colours Peekaboo!” by Dawn Sirett, designed by Rachael Parfitt and with photography Dave King is a children’s flap and touch-and-feel book about colours and clothing. Each page prompts the reader to answer the question “Where is the baby dressed in…” with the relevant colour and open the flap (an item in that colour to reveal the baby and touch the texture on the baby’s clothing.
This is a beautifully designed book that is more complex than it first seems. While the text is very repetitive, it’s a great way to prompt young readers to learn colours and learn the difference between each page. Although the book was published close to 20 years ago, it feels very inclusive and features babies of different races and genders without any particular connection between gender and colour. The book is highly interactive and was a big hit with my toddler who loved revealing the pictures behind the differently shaped flaps and exploring the different textures. The final page, featuring a rainbow, has an added layer where it prompts the reader to name all the colours of the rainbow.
A really great find, and even though I had to dig it out of the garage for this review, I won’t be giving it away any time soon.
