My World: A Book of First Words - Hardcover

Frann Preston-Gannon has illustrated many books for children, including Deep Deep Sea and What a Hoot! Based in London, Frann spent time in the United States as the first Brit selected for the Maurice Sendak fellowship.

PreS-K—A basic picture dictionary of first words broken down into different subject headings. Each subject is something toddlers may experience in their world. These headings include "Babies," "Things To Wear," "The Farm," "The Playground," "Pets," and "Under the Sea." All objects and animals have eyes, giving the illustrations expression and a cartoonish feel. The text is limited, written in a black font that is cohesive throughout the book. However, the organization is random. Readers may find it particularly jarring that the subject of bugs is followed by kitchen words. The illustrations are done in bold, bright, and vivid colors, with spare white backgrounds, thus letting the images pop off the page in an almost three-dimensional way. VERDICT A vibrant, well-illustrated, but arbitrary compendium of words.—Megan McGinnis, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY