Flip Flap Safari

PreS-Gr 2—There's something undeniably goofy and cheery about the art of Scheffler, author of the "Pip and Posy" books (Nosy Crow), and illustrator of Julia Donaldson's "Gruffalo" titles (Dial), among others. Those googly eyes and oddly expressive faces of the characters he draws, whether human or animal, and even their stances (think: the Gruffalo walking thru the wood) can't help but make readers smile. Add in an abundance of bright colors and amusing details, and his pictures are a guaranteed delight. Each spread of the sturdy spiral-bound Safari features two large-print four-line stanzas on the left and a full-page image of a creature featuring Scheffler trademark art on the right. Each picture includes a few words indicating one of the sounds these wild animals might make (e.g., "Roar! Roar!" for the lion, "Munch! Munch!" for the giraffe). The humorous verses offer a few details about the creature's anatomy, senses, sound, speed, or behavior (re: the warthog: "My snout has lots of lumps and bumps;/my tusks are sharp and short./I swish my tail and flap my ears/ and give a great big snort.") The pages are split in two horizontally, allowing readers—with a flip or a flap—to make some curious creatures such as the girah (half giraffe, half cheetah) or the wartelope (half warthog, half antelope). Since the second group of stanzas on each page focus on legs, movement, or color of the animal's coat, they pair up nicely with the newly made fantastical creatures. An interactive iPad version of the book (Nosy Crow, 2014) is also available.