My Birdie and My Bunny Puzzle Board Books illustrated by Jessie Ford

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My Bunny and My Birdie are two innovative, interactive board books from a new imprint from a publisher known for its attention to design, production and creating gorgeous books with high visual appeal. Aimed at babies, preschoolers and toddlers, AbramsAppleseed's goal is to "foster the development of its young readers and engage them and their adults in artful, beautifully conceived books." They have definitely achieved that with My Bunny and My Birdie, both of which are illustrated by Jessie Ford with bright, chunky characters reminiscent of Eric Carle, if he worked with a different color palette.



Beyond the bright, engaging illustrations, each of the four pages in these books contains a puzzle piece  that blends in with the illustration. The pieces can be removed to complete a four piece, two sided puzzle! However, these books aren't just about the visuals and the puzzles, they are verbally interactive as well. My Birdie begins, "My birdie has one bright yellow beak." The reader can encourage the listener to point to the beak and/or count. The books goes on, "My birdie has two little black feet./ My birdie has three green tail feathers./ My birdie's wing is hiding four pink chicks." The corresponding puzzle pieces have numbers on the back that can add to the learning experience.  My Bunny follows a rabbit through a field, sniffing flowers, eating carrots, listening to bumble bees then hopping away. There are many details in the illustrations that encourage readers to play "find the..." as you read together, a favorite activity I shared with my kids when they were very little and we read together.

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