I am not always a fan of the “click bait” book for toddlers. You know the type: they are trying to make an activist of your baby, or posh or something that a hipster parent wants. The child themselves could not care less what the subject is. They are more worried if they can they eat it or not. But every so often one of these modern books is clever and something that is worth the time to partake in.
Since I will be laughing too hard at Bookish Cats by Mudpuppy (illustrator Angie Rozelaar) I will start with Andy Warhol What Colors Do You See? Also, by Mudpuppy, this board book is just taking Warhol paintings and using the main color to talk about the color in question. Or technically saying the word. There is no text other than Yellow (Banana), Pink (Cow), White (Mona Lisa) and so forth. One page equals one word. In that respect there is nothing different about it. It is just a book about colors. However, the end has the names of the paintings used and with the soup can page you are asked to say which colors you can name, therefore making it a bit more interactive. It is just a clever way of mixing art and a theme we all know and love. It is not pretentious, nor it is just the same old thing we always see. It is a book that would make a nice baby shower gift as it is not the same old book that we all tend to give. Therefore, there will be no 22 Goodnight Moons for the parent-to-be, only 21 this time around.
And as said, I am still laughing over Bookish Cats. Each page is a famous classical tale with cat puns in the titles and the author themselves. While, on one level this is a tad pretentious (classical books for kids in the toddler set might be a bit too much) it is also just extremely humorous. How can you not like Romeow & Juliet by William Shakespurr? Or Oliver Hiss by Charles Lickens? (Come on! I mean, Charles Lickens!!!) The colors are sweet and limited details as needed. Obviously, there is no question that the cat in is Anna Purrenia or one of several other classical characters, but they are soft and furry, too. They are not what I consider “solid realism” images. I am not sure if the under 3 crowd is aware of who Don Quixote is or why the pun is funny, therefore, I recommend this for an adult who likes classical books and/or cats. It would be a fun gift for the person who has everything that you need a gift for. This could be a hostess gift or just for fun. If you do have a toddler you would give this too, I would love to know the reaction as I am assuming, they would be more interested in cats in dresses and the colors of the book than anything else.
The nice thing about both books is they are brand new. Just came the day this review was written. Therefore, grab yours quick before everyone else gets the same idea and you find 25 cool new board books for your babies’ library.