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Give and Take by Lucie Felix (view source)
Revision as of 14:40, 2 October 2015
, 14:40, 2 October 2015no edit summary
Each double spread is a minimalist's delight, a simple white page that contains one or two bright elements. The reader is encouraged to interact with the book by removing part of the page and sometimes adding it again on the next page. This may reveal a mouse or a candle, the simplicity works brilliantly in encouraging a toddler to interact, but also looks great. Once you have taken from one page and given to another you will reach the end; you are now asked to go back again. There is no story, just a simple artistic game that helps to encourage development of motor skills, the book is almost as much a toy as it is reading matter.
As well as studying art, Felix also studied biology and you get the sense from ''Give'' that the author has thought about the fundamentals of child development and created a book that will work to help hand-eye co-ordination. Due to the loose pieces involved, it is suggested that 3 year olds and above should only play with the book, but with '''close''' supervision I think that any child over 18 months should be fine – just be careful that they look after the pieces that are removable and don't lose them, or the book will soon lose its appeal.
The draw of ''Give and Take'' may rest slightly on how the adult feels towards simplified books, but from what I have witnessed, children do love it. This really is a book that also appeals as a toy. If that was not enough, you do get the sense that it helps them develop their skills to remove and add items. This is a joy of a book to look at, but also to watch your young one play with.