Both books are Nosy Crow publications – thanks to the publisher for sending them for review

Peekaboo Car
Camilla Reid and Ingela P Arrhenius

Even before opening this, toddlers will likely be captivated by the opportunity to manipulate the car’s headlights on the cover illustration. Going through the book presents them with an oilcan, a drill, a line of cars, a lorry, traffic signs, a petrol pump and other items that can also perform surprise actions when the sliders are used. Then on the final spread , there’s a mirror waiting to be revealed for a ‘Peekaboo … you!’
Offering lots of occasions to develop their fine manipulative skills, little ones meet vehicles, passengers, tools and drivers in this fun game of peekaboo presented through Camilla Reid’s simple rhyming text and Ingela P Arrhenius’s bright, patterned illustrations.

My First ABC
Edward Underwood

This is the latest of the excellent large format 100 First Words series. There are two letters on every one of the thick card pages, on which are various size boxes within each of which is an appealing image and a single word label in a clear, unadorned font. Toddlers will delight in engaging in a ‘point and name’ game with an adult or older child and in so doing will likely learn some new words, as well as seeing familiar ones in print.

Equally, they will enjoy guessing and then looking to see what’s hidden beneath the flaps on every spread – another feature that both publisher and illustrator know appeals strongly to very young children. In this book the hidden object begins with the same letter as that depicted on the flap.

Hours of fun learning potential in this well-designed, attractively illustrated book.