Flip-a-Word Books in SLJ

Flip-a-Word: Pig Wig and Flip-a-Word: Snake Cake, by Yukiko Kido

Children will be instantly attracted to the bold, colorful pictures in these books. Each title focuses on three different word families. Pig looks at words containing the letter combinations "ig," "ug," and "at," while Snake features "ake," "oat," and "ant." Peek-through pages transform illustrations to match the changing consonants (e.g., "jig" becomes "dig"). While most of the pages feature only one or two words, the last page of each section is a review of all the words from the family. The bright, flat illustrations outlined in black are reminiscent of the artwork in Dick Bruna's "Miffy" books (Kodansha America), but are more colorful. These titles could be used with beginner readers or as an introduction to rhyming words. Each one includes a page about word families that adults might find helpful. The appealing cartoon covers and die-cut pages guarantee circulation. - Danielle Nicole Du Puis

--School Library Journal, November 2006