Animal Families; Animal Homes

Two concept books which use fold-out flaps to reinforce a learning point. Animal Families concentrates on teaching younger children about collective words by showing, for example, one fish on a page which then cleverly opens out to reveal a shoal of fish. Animal Homes makes an excellent early reference book aimed at slightly older children. It explores the habitats and breeding patterns of various species. In this case the double-spread initially shows the surface picture while the fold-out takes the reader inside the habitat. Both are excellent examples of books that have been really carefully thought out to teach some fairly complex ideas to young children.