Beck Stanton and Matt Stanton, This is a Ball, ABC Books/HarperCollins, 23 March 2015, $19.99 (hbk), 32pp., ISBN 9780733334351
With a subtitle saying “Books That Drive Kids CRAZY!”, this book is sure to drive the adults who share it with children a little crazy too! All the humour starts with the front cover illustration that is not a ball at all. It is a box and the mayhem continues inside.
Brightly coloured background layouts on the left hand pages contain white text and white pages on the right have clear black text, which helps make the print accessible and prominent for very young children. The illustrations, although zany, are uncluttered and readily identifiable, although all hopelessly wrong. I can see that this book will invite interaction and hilarity for pre-school children and all ages beyond. Teaching Guide is available on the HarperCollins website.
reviewed by Julie Long
