Flutterby butterfly

Flutterby Butterfly has disappeared, and readers can help find her by manipulating horizontal and vertical sliders built into the pages of this interactive board book. Reader-directed questions ("Could she be munching on some leaves?") will keep children invested as they discover alliterative creatures like Curly Caterpillar (the leaf-munching culprit) and Sunny Spider. Parrish's chunky, vivid images are as sunny as can be (with rosy cheeks and a wide smile, Scary Scarecrow is anything but fearsome when he rises up out of one page), and the seek-and-find activity culminates as the pink-and-yellow Flutterby is found in a field of flowers. Available simultaneously: Hoppity Frog. Ages 2-5. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

This interactive board book is actually sturdy enough for young children to manipulate. Little fingers will find the sliders on each page are easy to move up and down or side to side to reveal the answer to a simple mystery: "Where is Flutterby Butterfly?" Die-cut sliders reveal a tortoise, a snail, a scarecrow, and more before readers find the title character on the final page. The cheerful 1960s mod art-style illustrations line up nicely with the interactive elements on both the front and back of each page, doubling the fun. The picture on each page hints at the critter that will be revealed by the slide. Descriptive vocabulary introduces new words while relying on the illustrations to define the words through context. Companion title Hoppity Frog follows the same format but is marred by biome confusion. The question "Is he in the coral?" presents a saltwater environment while the rest of the book is set in freshwater habitats, where the vast majority of frog species reside. While this probably does not matter to the board-book audience, it should to parents, teachers, and librarians concerned with presenting their young charges with scientific accuracy. Respect the child: accuracy trumps cuteness. Flutterby Butterfly's mild mystery makes for good, interactive fun. (Board book. 1-3) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.