Farm

I just bought this for my 14 month old yesterday and already we're accomplished 'what does a cow say - moo' and what does a sheep say - baa baa.' Unlike many of the other vocabulary books for babies, this one only introduces a few words and pictures at a time. The format is very baby friendly. It's a thick board book where each page has its own tab making it easy for the babies to turn the page (my daughter's favorite activity). The first page has pictures (everything's made of clay making the pictures really cute and friendly looking) of a gate, dog, tractor, sheep and lamb, each labelled and on its own so they're easy to identify. Then, on the oposite page is everything put together, so there's a nice hillside with the farmer and his dog while the tractor tows a cart of sheep. Then there are a few other bits in the picture to continue with identification. The book is only 10 pages long, but introduces enough images to really get a child thinking and learning. It's a fun activity a parent and child can do together, which is rare. The last page has all of the vocabulary words from the book, so you can make that into a separate game. Overall, it's a very nice, inviting book that I think both parents and children will enjoy. Everything Usbourne publishes is brilliant and the Look and Say series is no exception.

This has been one of my son's favorites since he got it (around his first birthday) and now, at 19 months, he still comes back to it again and again. The format of the book is simple: on the lefthand side of each page are pictures of 5 farm animals and things found on a farm, and on the righthand side are those same exact things placed in a farm scene -- so the child can identify them again. Each page (there are 5) has a big sturdy tab with a picture of one of the featured items (tractor, cow, scarecrow, hen, owl) so when the book is closed you can still see those pictures. The last page reviews all 25 pictures featured in the book. Not only is this a great book to familiarize children with things found on a farm, but the pictures are REALLY COOL. All the characters (farmers, sheep, ducks, etc) are made out of Fimo (modeling clay), photographed, and placed in front of bright-colored backgrounds (fields, ponds, trees, etc). They are also somehow laminated so that they REALLY stand out. The book is a bit larger and sturdier than most other board books and holds up well to my son's rough play. This is a very high quality board book and I would highly recommend it for any baby/toddler who likes to name and point to pictures.