cover image The Big, Bigger, Biggest Book

The Big, Bigger, Biggest Book

Sami, . . Blue Apple, $14.95 (24pp) ISBN 978-1-934706-39-8

Using the most minimal text, this novelty book engagingly explores adjectives and adverbs in their absolute, comparative and superlative forms. Each spread incorporates a gatefold flap: at first, readers see only a single word, e.g., “deep,” which accompanies a scuba diver in an underwater setting. This particular flap unfolds from the bottom of the page, once to show the diver swimming “deeper” and again to show him “deepest.” A skyscraper grows tall, taller, tallest at the top of a page, a cat pursues a mouse heading fast for an initially concealed mousehole, etc. The concept is inventive and SAMi's familiar bold colors and clever gatefolds will attract the eyes of very young readers, especially the spectacular last page, in which the “biggest” giant is four times the size of the book. However, this is not a board book, and the toddlers who will appreciate it the most are also likely to maul it. Ages 2–5. (Dec.)