View source for Playtime Stories by Luana Rinaldo

{{infobox2
|title=Playtime Stories
|author=Luana Rinaldo
|reviewer=Sam Tyler
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=Time for some interaction overload in this well illustrated book that will have you flipping, following and answering questions.
|rating=4
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|pages=12
|publisher=Campbell Books
|date=March 2015
|isbn=9781447277057
|website=http://luanarinaldo.com/
|video=
|aznuk=1447277058
|aznus=1447277058
|cover=1447277058
}}

A book made for a baby is often more than just a visual experience.  Yes, there are words to read, but you could also have textures to feel, lines to follow or flaps to unveil.  If the fancy took you, all these elements could be housed in one book along with some colourful animals getting up to some silly playtime fun.

Like with so many books aimed at the very young Luana Rinaldo’s ''Playtime Stories'' does not have a narrative or such, but follows a group of children as they get up to some adventures in different places via the medium or short rhymes.  To help you find were they are going the book has a divot on each page that you can follow with your finger.  Which way is the tractor heading?  You can follow its path by feel.

The touch element of the book is not the only interactive plaything.  There are loads of flaps hidden across the 12 pages on offer.  If your 6-18 month year old is not testing out the textures of the grooves, they may just be pulling on a flap.  And that's not all!  There is a further more traditional type of interaction as the book is packed full of small asides that ask questions of the reader.  Rinaldo has filled the pages with colourful and fun drawings and rather than potentially have you miss something, she has left questions for you to try and find the answer to.

The book itself is made brilliantly for its market.  The 12 pages come on strong cardboard and the various grooves and flaps have a sturdy feel to them.  This is a book that should handle a lot of kid handling, but a Library copy may get a little over loved.  The rhyming stories are also fun; they may be short, but are easy and fun to read.

The one element of ''Playtime Stories'' that lets things down slightly is that it is perhaps too crammed.  Each page has several questions dotted around, but the text is tiny.  No way can a baby or toddler see these and the adult will need their glasses.  As someone who naturally likes to read around a storybook with a child, having these on the nose questions already written for me is a little much and leaves the book feeling cluttered.  For an adult who is unsure of how to expand a storybook then ''Playtime Stories'' is a great way of expanding your skills. For the rest of us, it makes a very good book feel a little overfilled.     

If you are on the lookout for more interactive children’s books you could try [[What's in the Fridge? by Gaby Goldsack and Jo Moon]] or this special edition of [[Room On The Broom by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler]].

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