There’s more to board books than meets the eye, and a good board book will help young children develop a lifelong reading habit. Belinda Whyte shares with us her reviews of five board books for the littlest readers.
As a parent of pre-teens, it has been a while since I had so many board books in my hands. The magic of the format came back to me when I received these five in the mail. Five! A veritable buggy of board books (or bassinet of board books?), fit for a pre-afternoon nap refusal or a corner-gnaw from a gummy mouth.
Board books may seem like a simple premise—picture books transferred into sturdy, hard pages, perfect for little hands. However, there is far more to a good board book than that. The intention of a board book is to support young children with the recognition of simple, ubiquitous concepts such as colours and shapes, an awareness and basic comprehension of repetitive and rhythmic sentences, the development of fine motor skills, and, of course, a connection between adults and children. They are often a first foray for children into the world of books and can be read over and over again—usually at the demand of the kids!
The intention of a board book is to support young children with the recognition of simple, ubiquitous concepts
Board books in our house were so loved that flaps or pages were sellotaped together multiple times. I have hidden them from my children many times over and they have joyfully found them and cried out for them to be read, yet again.
Matariki, by Gavin Bishop
This book introduces young children to the nine stars in the Matariki star cluster and the meaning of each one. The text is in both English and te reo Māori and is accompanied by simple, bold, illustrations.
This delightful board book is bound to become an instant classic and a must-have for all tamariki in New Zealand. It is the perfect combination of simple text and pictures that will capture a toddler’s attention.
This delightful board book is bound to become an instant classic and a must-have for all tamariki in New Zealand
The illustrations are quintessential Gavin Bishop, pared back for younger readers. Bright, striking geometric shapes, pleasing curves, and simple, bold colours will continue to support eye development and stimulation for young babies and toddlers. I wanted prints of them for my wall!
A simple explanation of the nine stars of the Matariki star cluster sits alongside each illustration. These are in te reo Māori first, followed by an English translation of the meaning. The words are simple and poetic. They could send a child off to sleep like a lullaby.
If I were to find something to improve, it is that I wished for a greater size difference in the text. The name of the star and te reo Māori text (which is printed in a different colour) felt like they needed to be in a larger font than the English translation. The equal sizing could be an attempt to give the languages equal footing.
Ngārara i roto i te kete: Bugs in the Kete and Ngā tae i roto i te kete: Colours in the Kete, by Katie Kool and Cindy Tan
These two books are both written with the intention of introducing young readers to te reo Māori kupu (words) in a fun and engaging way—lifting the flaps! I love a book with lift-up-flaps and, invariably, so do toddlers. Ngārara i roto i te kete: Bugs in the Kete focuses on numbers and Ngā tae i roto i te kete: Colours in the Kete on colours. While not strictly board books, as they are soft-cover texts, they still fit into the board book genre in terms of style and content.
The concepts of these books are standard in board books, but they have been approached here in a slightly more complex way—the inclusion of simple sentence structures in te reo Māori is such as one might be introduced to when first learning the language. This makes the books an excellent learning tool for whānau embarking on a te reo Māori learning journey together or supporting a child in a bilingual household or preschool environment.
The flaps in these two books are lovely—illustrations of beautiful kete that hide the bugs or the objects of different colours
Alternatively, they are just fun to explore together with children as they are interactive in nature. Ngā tae i roto i te kete: Colours in the Kete is a simple version of “I spy” with text that asks you to “Titiro, whakakitea, look and find” objects in the kete that match short descriptions. Ngārara i roto i te kete: Bugs in the Kete encourages readers to count the number of different types of bugs in each kete. It gives the number in numeric form, written form in both English and Māori, and also with coloured dots, so lots of exposures on the page that will help a child recognise the numbers.
The flaps in these two books are lovely—illustrations of beautiful kete that hide the bugs or the objects of different colours. However, they are a little fragile, so I would recommend these books for slightly older preschoolers or under supervision.
Ngārara i roto i te kete: Bugs in the Kete
Written by Katie Kool and Cindy Tan
Illustrated by Cindy Tan
Published by Rākau Press
RRP: $22.00
Ngā tae i roto i te kete: Colours in the Kete
Written by Katie Kool and Cindy Tan
Illustrated by Cindy Tan
Published by Rākau Press
RRP: $22.00
Big Emotions for Little People, Rebekah Lipp & Craig Phillips (Wildling Books)
This book is the simplified offering of the Emotions series from Wildling Books. A variety of common feelings are given a page a piece, with illustrations and simple text to go with them.
The Wildling Books team of Rebekah Lipp and Craig Phillips are a well-oiled machine by now, and Big Emotions for Little People continues their track record of high-quality picture books to help children understand their feelings. The premise of the book is simple: a short declarative sentence with a matching illustration on each double-page spread.
Craig’s illustrations for these books are now verging on iconic and will delight children and parents alike
Craig’s illustrations for these books are now verging on iconic and will delight children and parents alike. They are inclusive, relatable, and somehow comforting as well. Children will recognise the emotions in the book readily, and there is the added benefit of being able to identify and name the feelings they are having.
The use of a single, simple sentence in a clear font is subtle genius. Toddlers are sure to be burbling the words themselves after some repeated readings and will feel pride in “reading” a book. The text is also likely to support early literacy skills and a reading habit.
Big Emotions for Little People
Written by Rebekah Lipp
Illustrated by Craig Phillips
Published by Wilding Books
RRP: $18.95
Kiwi Surfers, written by Zac Dickinson and Kate Dickinson, illustrated by Melike Us
Kiwi Surfers is a series of portraits and descriptions of surfing character types re-imagined as animals. From the Learner to the Pro and the Local to the Tourist, everyone is covered.
Little ones will enjoy the cute and funny illustrations in this book, which are mostly of native birds, insects, and reptiles from Aotearoa catching waves and looking cool. There are a lot of words on the pages, possibly too many to get the focused attention of early readers. I wanted to like the text more, but the rhyming appeared forced and I couldn’t get a rhythm going when I read it aloud.
Little ones will enjoy the cute and funny illustrations in this book, which are mostly of native birds, insects, and reptiles
Kiwi Surfers is definitely a board book with a small niche market. It is perfect for your friend who is obsessed with finding the perfect break and who just had a baby. If you are a surfer yourself, you are sure to recognise some of the surfer types described in these pages. It’s not likely to become a classic, but, surfer or not, you could definitely have fun acting them out with your child.
Kiwi Surfers
Written by Zac Dickinson
Illustrated by Kate Dickinson and Melike Us
Published by As We Are Illustration
RRP: $28.00
Belinda Whyte
- Belinda Whyte is the Resource Teacher of Literacy for the Horowhenua region, based in Levin. She is passionate about helping students to love literacy and enabling them access to good books and effective instruction. As a judge of the 2024 New Zealand Children and Young Adult’s BookAwards, she relished being able to indulge in her love of books and reading.