Chimp and Zee's First Words and Pictures

This book has shot right to the top of my all-time favourite First Words books! Featuring the antics of the lovable, mischievous monkeys, Chimp and Zee, the rhyming text on each double spread fairly bounces along, encouraging the youngest of voices, eyes, fingers and minds to interact with both words and pictures. After the introduction, ‘This is Chimp. This is Zee. Point to everything you see’, the book visits many familiar haunts and concepts for the very young… dressing up, food, transport, animals, painting. There is a star on each spread next to a question, e.g. ‘Which animal would be a good pet?’ – a visual clue for the child to ask the reader what the question is. Many spreads would make excellent starting points for creative writing in the KS1 classroom (6-7 year-olds), e.g. ‘Chimp and Zee are busy every day. Monday – monkeying about at the market. Tuesday – tidying toys in the treehouse.’ Imagine the fun creating a class, a paired or individual alliterative week!

A special commendation for the Anholts’ use of lowercase to begin each common noun pictured – so many word books use upper case for that initial letter. As always, Catherine Anholt’s delightful illustrations match Laurence’s text in both humour and detail. Highly commended, a wonderful gift for a small child, and a must for the playgroup, nursery and KS1 room, as well as the library!