There's Something About Karen Katz

Toes, Ears, and Nose!

by Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Karen Katz

There will be other posts about Karen Katz, but I'm starting with this one, as it's my baby's favorite Katz book. It's a lift-the-flap book in which baby's various parts are hiding under clothes and other things (blanket, lollipop), and you lift the flaps to find things.

As with all the Katz books, there are colorful, baby-mesmerizing patterns and sweet round faces throughout. The cover art says it all.

This spread gets the most coos, especially the right page:

The appearance of the bright blue eyes under those glasses gets Miss E very excited.

At six and a half months, my baby is all about grabbing and grappling with things, so she likes to lift the flaps herself. At first she lifts them and looks under them, but if I let her hang on too long, her "must taste everything" reflex kicks in, and she will pull them to her mouth. Ah, babies.

Anyway, I think this is a very satisfying first "lift-the-flap" book, because young babies are so fascinated with faces. In this book, there are lots of them to discover. We have really enjoyed sharing it with our girl.

Update: At age 9 months, she still loves the book-- though she especially enjoys tearing off the flaps these days. We were given two copies, and one of them is now retired due to extensive de-flapification.