Faces, by Shelley Rotner & Ken Kreisler

Rotner, Shelley and Kreisler, Ken. Faces. Illustrated by Rotner, Shelley. MacMillan, 1994. 32 pages. $14.95, ISBN 0-02-777887-8

AGE LEVEL
0-12 months

GENRE
Nonfiction (Face Perception)

REVIEW
Babies, and toddlers as well, will enjoy poring over the many children's faces in this book.  Young children of various ages, races, and ethnicities, as well as of both genders, are shown in full-color photographs which fill most of each page.  In roughly the first half of the book are photos of the complete faces of one or two children each, accompanied by minimal text describing their faces or explaining what these faces are doing: "friendly faces", "funny faces", "faces talking", and "faces sleeping", for example.  In the second half of the book, there are more photos of complete faces, but there are also photos of parts of faces, such as mouths, eyes,ears, and noses.  This progression from complete faces to their components is very appropriate for the book's young audience, and should reinforce their understanding of the relationship between a whole and its parts. Another positive aspect of the book is the authors' statement that faces (and by implication, people), are "All different, each special in its own way".  A great book for the youngest children to enjoy, and learn from along the way. 

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
During infant storytime, this book could be paired with the following face rhyme.

          TWO LITTLE EYES

          (Instruct parents/caretakers to touch their baby's facial features as they say 
          the rhyme.)

          Two little eyes to look around.
          Two little ears to hear each sound.
          One little nose to smell what's sweet.
          And one little mouth that likes to eat.

What's on My Head?, by Margaret Miller

Miller, Margaret. What's on My Head? Little Simon, 1998. 14 pages. $4.99, ISBN 978-1416989950

AGE LEVEL
0-12 months

GENRE
Board Book

REVIEW
In its clear and interesting images and age-appropriate sparse text, Margaret Miller's What’s on My Head? shows once again why she is considered a master of the board book format.  The book's twelve pages are composed of two-page spreads consisting of a baby with a hat or other item on his or her head on the right panel and a description of this item on the left panel, e.g., “fancy hat”, “fire hat”, “pretty bow”, etc. The placement of items such as stuffed animals and a rubber ducky on some of the children’s heads adds humor. The close-up images show detail, but not so much that they will overwhelm infants’ eyes.  The large-font text and repetitive pattern would make this book a good choice for older children who are beginning to read as well.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
A picture book version of this book could be used successfully in lapsit or toddler storytime.