popup fun that guarantees squeals of delight!
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ANIMAL OPPOSITES
by Petr Horacek - Walker Books, 2013
ages newborn to 4 years / funny, s.t.e.m.
If you want to see a one to three–year–old child’s eyes glisten and their cheeks turn tight with grinning, their body tense in anticipation and their little hands curl in and out ready to reach out and touch – this is the book for you!
You’ll need to be prepared to read it again and again and to constantly go back to a favourite page–but what a joyful time that will be. I know, because our Ivy is on to her 5th reading in a row!
This is a pop-up book with opposites like:
“Still Sloth…Bouncy Kangaroo”,
“Heavy Hippo … Light Butterfly”
And so on. Lots of fun for slightly older kids too, on their first read through, guessing what might come next - most of the opposites are out of sight until you lift the flap. And lots of fun for little ones to repeat the words with the appropriate tone of voice:
“ Quiet Rabbit … Loud Lion”.
It’s quite a mesmerising little book, ours sat on the coffee table for a few pre-Christmas weeks and entertained all ages. Aside from being tremendous fun to read, there are some nice underlying concepts and teaching moments:
It’s a fun way to look at opposites and easily branches into discussions of other ways to describe animals and what the opposites might be.
Opposite qualities are equally valued – big/small, white/colourful etc.
It's good for discussions about relativity. For example: a peacock is certainly colourful, but is it the most colourful animal in the world? Is a lion louder than an elephant? Is an elephant bigger than a whale? Is a mouse really weak? (Here’s a fun link with colourful animals)
The book itself is fairly sturdy for a pop-up, but still good for teaching little hands to touch carefully. It’s really great to own if there’s a little one in your life – or if you’re a lover of all things pop-up – or if there’s an animal lover in your household who would find it amusing.
