Teckentrup, Britta, Up & Down. PICTURE BOOK. Candlewick
Press. 2013. $17.99
Pre-K -- OPTIONAL
“Little Penguin misses his friend. She lives on a faraway
iceberg.” To get to his friend, Little Penguin jumps and dives. He goes up and
down, in and out, over and under. Finally arriving at her iceberg, the two
friends are finally reunited.
I wanted to love this book, but found it to be just okay.
Being a “lift-the-flap” book, it is seemingly geared towards young readers. My
13-month-old is a lift-the-flap fanatic, but this one just didn’t hold her
interest. The pictures, while beautifully illustrated, are dark and set on dark
backgrounds. This combination proved to be a turn off for my little reader. The
flaps were hard for her to find and didn’t reveal anything too exciting.
Slightly older reader might enjoy the imagery while still enjoying the simple
concept of the story. We’ll have to try this one again when she’s a little
bigger.
Reviewer: Rebecca H., Language Arts
teacher
