In common with all editions, the brief was to try to combine high-end fashion and luxury goods with a sense of the featured location.

Looking at popular foods, unpleasant tastes and how animals taste or what they eat, there is plenty to discuss in this book of creative imagery and ideas.

‘I taste…’ is one of a series of books which aim to raise awareness in young children of the five senses in a light-hearted and humorous way. Contains two acetate pages.

Acetate spread:

Title: I Taste…
ISBN: 978-1-908473-06-6
Binding: Hardback
Size: 220mm x 200mm
No. of pages: 36pp, incl. 2 acetate sheets,
Published: 18/06/2012
Price: £7.99

With bright, colourful and creative imagery, there is always more than meets the eye in this simple yet deceptively clever book.

‘I See…’ is one of a series of books which aim to raise awareness in young children of the five senses in a light-hearted and humorous way. Contains two acetate pages.

Acetate spread:

Title: I See…
ISBN: 978-1-908473-04-2
Binding: Hardback
Size: 220mm x 200mm
No. of pages: 36pp, incl. 2 acetate sheets,
Published: 18/06/2012
Price: £7.99

Publisher PatrickGeorge has created not one, but four books based on these basic concepts which do exactly that; they make you curious once more.

All four books share a basic ‘trick’; paper pages are interleaved with partially transparent acetate pages. By turning over the acetate page, the images on the adjacent paper pages change.

For example, in Numbers the reader rescues a fly on each page when counting up the numbers:

Before the acetate page is turned it looks like one fly is about to be eaten by a fish.

The acetate page is turned, and in doing so the fly is rescued from the mouth of the fish, and counting up to six is completed.

How fun for the kid reader to be the rescuing hero! I also like how turning the acetate page focuses attention on counting the final number; rather than the adult or child simply counting by rote, the page turn makes the reader pause to physically add the final fly to the tally.

In Opposites much of the fun comes from optical illusions; a large ball held in the arms of a child becomes a small ball held between finger and thumb, or an arrow seems to move across the page, first missing its target, then hitting it.

Before you turn the acetate page, the tear looks like a drop of water

Turn the acetate page and the tear is no long a drop of water, but rather, a flame

The design is innovative, the bright, bold illustrations are eyecatching, and most importantly, these books make learning about basic concepts a great deal of fun. Not just for the child, but also for the adult reading and re-reading these books with their kids.

The physical play aspect of these books reminded me of one of last year’s most widely acclaimed picture books – Press Here by Hervé Tullet (which I reviewed here). As with Tullet’s book, so with these books by PatrickGeorge: reading becomes an active-ity (forgive the deliberate misspelling) without anything electronic anywhere in sight. These books create conversations and spark interest.

Unfortunately, each book comes with a compulsory EU warning that states it is “Not for children under 3 years” because technically the acetate represents a choking hazard. Given that these books are ideal for parents with very young children, it is such a shame that these books are required to include this warning. I wanted to give a copy of these books to a local playgroup, but this warning means they do not wish to accept them (even though parents with an ounce of common sense will not be worried at all by the risks theoretically posed). PatrickGeorge have assured me that the inclusion of the warning is merely a formality and that the books have all been safety-checked and passed. Perhaps this warning can have a silver lining though? The books are so stylish and beautifully produced they will appeal to readers who have long since learned their numbers and colours. In fact, they’ll appeal to anyone who likes thoughtful, ingenious and smart books.
Read full article here