Anton Poitier (text) Sophia Touliatou (illus.), Who’s Next? Guess Who!, Five Mile Press, June 2016, 32pp., $14.95 (hbk), ISBN 9781760403133
Colourful double page spreads greet the reader in this fun picture book for pre and early readers. Each opening features a large elephant and a parade of different animals across the foot of the pages. The right hand opening repeats the same questions: “Who left?” and “Guess who came next?” while the left hand side introduces the next arrival in an alliterated announcement such as “silly seal” or “clever cow.” In this way the young readers progress through the text fully engaged with the visual and written content as they have to both guess and identify the new arrivals on each page and the animals that are no longer in the scene.
Sophia Touliatou’s illustrations are full of movement and playfulness as the pageant of endearing animals thunder energetically through the book. The written text is in large, clear font on a white background making it easy for the young child to read. The simple, repetitive and alliterative style is aurally appealing and helps to build the anticipation of each new scene.
Similar in style to Poitier’s popular Who had a Poo, this new book also employs the elements of a guessing game while encouraging skills of observation and concentration necessary for developing reading ability. Who’s Next? Guess Who! is an entertaining and interactive text which allows children and adults to share the joy of reading aloud together or alone.
Reviewed by John Nolan
