Review of BLACK? WHITE! DAY? NIGHT!: A BOOK OF OPPOSITES

Bibliography:

Seeger, Laura Vaccaro. 2006. Black? White! Day? Night!: A book of opposites. Illustrated by author. New Milford, CT: Roaring Brook Press. ISBN 1596431857

Summary:

A book of opposites which introduces not only simple words, such as “day” and “night”, but also more complex ones, such as “simple” and “complicated”, through the use of lift flaps and creative artwork.

Review:

Laura Vaccaro Seeger’s Black? White! Day? Night!: A Book of Opposites is a concept book that actively involves children in the reading and learning process. The author/illustrator has created an interactive lift-flap book which poses simple one-word questions to teach preschool children about opposites. For example, “clean?” is shown on a page with a white dog looking through a cut-out window. Readers lift the flap to reveal a “dirty!” dog that has paint on each of its paws. The simplistic nature of the text and the brightly colored basic illustrations allow parents and children to focus on the words and use the pictures to understand the concepts presented. Some of the words may be too complex for the intended audience of three to six-year olds, but, with the guidance of an adult, children will soon expand their vocabularies. For example, the words “simple?” and “complicated!” may challenge some preschoolers, but the clever drawing of a maze that incorporates the word “simple” in the maze’s pathways will provide a springboard for introducing these two opposites. Seeger’s ability to take the image for one concept and incorporate it in to the image for its opposite will make sharing this book a fun experience that children will want to repeat many times.