Faster, Faster! Nice and Slow!

This picture book on the theme of opposites has a number of features that make it particularly pleasing to share with young readers. The format is fairly large but not cumbersome to handle and the large, thick font used throughout makes the book especially useful for reading with a group of young children. It has a clear, fresh, uncluttered look and the full-page illustrations are big and bold. Opposites are incorporated into the backgrounds too; for instance, the first double page spread shows Nick against a ‘spotty’ background and Sue in front of a ‘stripey’ one. The font is adapted in some instances to enhance the contrast – for instance, on the spread showing: ‘I’m near to you, I’m far away,’ the size of print is enlarged and reduced, respectively; on another spread, ‘Faster, faster!’ is in italics while ‘Nice and s l o w’ uses spacing to carry extra visual impact. An excellent addition to the early years shelf.