cover image Hen on the Farm

Hen on the Farm

Lucy Cousins. Candlewick Press (MA), $6.99 (8pp) ISBN 978-1-56402-032-1

Cousins ( What Can Rabbit Hear? ; Maisy Goes Swimming ) brings her vivid, distinctive style to a new format in these cuddly cloth books. Designed for youngest readers, eight padded pages feature familiar objects rendered in bold hues and outlined in black. Wordless, except for a title that encompasses a theme ( Teddy in the House contains items children would see at home), the books are akin to a bunch of flashcards sewn together. Cousins's ingenuous drawings breathe life into the simplest of shapes--making these titles a perfect, user-friendly introduction for budding bibliophiles. Ages 6 mos.-up. (Apr.)