Mo and Beau by Vanya Nastanlieva
Published by Simply Read Books (Canada)
This is a charming and simple picture book in which the text consists of very few, repetitive, simple words which echo the action of the mouse and bear in the illustrations. It would make a delightful book for children to practice early reading.
The illustrations of Mo the mouse and Beau the bear steal the show in this book. Based on the ‘copycat’ game children like to play, the unlikely, mismatched duo are shown doing the same everyday action (Mo copies Beau stretching, yawning, breathing etc). Beau is so big he never completely fits on the page, and mo is small enough to only occupy the edge of a page. The rough and rugged cocoa coloured Beau dominates most pages, a delightful contrast to the demure peaches and cream Mo, however Beau is so big that unfortunately the page gutter sometimes stifles his action. An artful use of positioning, perspective and white space make each page humorous and enchanting, and the endpapers are adorned with cute sketches of Mo in various adorable poses.
Reading this book as a bedtime story would make the perfect ending to a busy day.
CKT Book Reviewer
Author/Illustrator: Vanya Nastanlieva
Title: Mo and Beau
Publisher: Simply Read Books
ISBN: 9781927018637
Published: February 2015
Age: 3+
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