The Nose, Toes and Tummy Book

This bright and appealing picturebook for the very young celebrates playful physicality with energy and style. Thrillingly scary games of ‘turn me upside down’ and tummy-tickling jostle with gentle invitations to whisper, dance or hug, and The Nose, Toes and Tummy Book will be an instant hit with many families.

Sally Nicholls’ humorous and informal text is well pitched for its target audience and she does a great job of cueing and supporting adults to read aloud with confidence. The visual and verbal drama is reinforced by constant invitations to participate – if the families on these pages are beeping each other’s noses or playing peekaboo, why not join in? – and there are plenty of  alliterative and joyfully repetitive verbal hooks (nom-nom-nom/kiss-kiss-kiss…) for children to pick up on, too.

Areas of flat colour in a bright but muted palette are punctuated by pleasing graphic patterns, but it’s Gosia Herba’s wonderfully diverse characters that dominate each spread. With large, expressive eyes that focus our attention on their gaze, we know who they care about and how they feel, and their elongated limbs are enjoyably sinuous and tactile.  Seven whole-page images and one high-energy double spread dwell on specific moments, but the rest are divided into multi-action rectilinear patchworks defined by coloured backgrounds. Some families will be drawn to these busy and exciting spreads; others may find them more challenging. Overall, though, this is strong, eyecatching design for the very young, who need and deserve to be stimulated in this way.

Despite ending with a wind-down and a definite GOODNIGHT, this book may be a little high-energy for some bedtimes, but families will enjoy sharing it whenever they want to cuddle up and have some fun. Thoughtful and inclusive representation, high quality design, a strong text and a focus on naming body parts will recommend The Nose, Toes and Tummy Book to nurseries, too.