What Happens Next? and Who Lives Here? by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Marc Boutavant
Nicola Davies is a zoologist and, fortunately for kids and parents, a fantastic kid's book author. From poetry (Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature) to very funny non-fiction books about animals (Talk, Talk Squawk and four others in the series) to the wonderful Flip the Flap and Find Out series, to which she has just added two new books. Earlier this year the series, illustrated by Marc Boutavant, kicked off with What Will I Be? and Who's Like Me?.
Geared toward toddlers with good attention spans, these books have thick, sturdy pages and are a stepping stone between board books and traditional picture books, both in format and content. Davies has a way with presenting her information and making it palatable to even the littlest listeners. In What Happens Next? we take a trip through the animal kingdom and learn different behaviors. One page reads, "Here are two chimps who want some food. Here's a mound full of tasty termites - but it's hard as a rock." A 3/4 page on the right hand side flips to reveal the picture below.
Beavers, chameleons, peacocks and honey bees also get a closer look. The final page of the Flip the Flap and Find Out series is always a recap of the information in the book, asking readers to match up animals and habits with a final flap that features a child doing something that humans do.
Who Lives Here? returns to the format of the first two books. A full page illustration takes up the left hand side of the page while the right features four colorful flaps to lift and answer the question. The jungle, a pond, a grassland, the ocean and the Arctic are visited in this book. The final page shows all the animals and habitats with a flap that looks like a house to lift and answer the question, "Who lives here?"
