Black? White! Day? Night! - A Book of Opposites (Ala Notable Children's Books (Awards)) (Neal Porter Books) [Hardcover]

Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2006 | Age Level: 3 and up

Having explored the alphabet (The Hidden Alphabet), colors (Lemons Are Not Red), and emotions (Walter Was Worried), Laura Vaccaro Seeger turns her extraordinary talents to opposites in this bright, colorful and imaginative book. Through a  series of ingenious die-cut pages, the reader discovers things that are the opposite of what they seem: A black bat transformed into a white ghost, a sunny day that becomes a starry night. Posed as a series of 18 questions and answers, Black? White! Day? Night! is sure to be a big success with small children everywhere.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 3–Clever compositions, a question/answer format, and sturdy die-cuts distinguish this title from many other concept books. Seeger employs flat, vibrant colors and bold contrasts between the framing page that lifts up and the design underneath. While some of the word pairs are familiar, the images are nevertheless surprising: a black bat turns out to be the upturned mouth of a white ghost. An ordinary sheep becomes extraordinary when discovered in a cloudy sky with flying pigs and a cow jumping over the moon. Blue diamonds that look very much alike are actually quite different when they are discovered inside unique snowflakes. Younger children will delight in the magical effect of the transformation, while those a little older will have fun anticipating and analyzing the process itself, propelled by the pattern in which each question yields the unexpected. The title's creative approach offers a variety of possible paths for connection. Books such as Lois Ehlert's Color Zoo (HarperCollins, 1989) or N. N. Charles's What Am I?: Looking through Shapes at Apples and Grapes (Scholastic, 1994) would extend the visual gymnastics for preschoolers, while titles such as Roni Schotter's The Boy Who Loved Words (Random, 2006) would continue adding to a school-aged child's store of language. Opposites attract and expand in this playful celebration.–Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Bold colors, carefully placed cutouts, and full-page lift-the-flaps make this much more than just another concept book about opposites. Children will be captivated from the very first page: a large black flap with a cutout revealing a black bat set against a pure white background. The single word black? printed in white, stands out clearly on the page. When kids lift the flap, they'll see the word white! (in white type) and discover that what appeared to be a bat is really the mouth of a ghost. Each of 18 opposites is similarly conveyed using only one word and the lift of a flap: a "follower" becomes a "leader"; a "tiny" bug becomes the eye of a "huge" elephant. Each flap is a different bold color, ensuring that the child won't miss the word or the figure representing the concept, and the scenes under the flaps are in keeping with the simple yet sophisticated graphic design of the book. Thick, shiny pages add to the sense of richness. From "front" to "back" and "beginning" to "end," this is a winner. Randall Enos
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 24 pages
• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press; First Edition edition (October 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596431857
• ISBN-13: 978-1596431850
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 8.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Opposite Book with a Twist!, November 17, 2006

By 

H. Ward (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black? White! Day? Night! - A Book of Opposites (Ala Notable Children's Books (Awards)) (Neal Porter Books) (Hardcover)

As someone who works a lot with small children, I know from experience how much they love suprises in a book. I was a huge fan of Ms. Seeger's other books - Walter is Worried and The Hidden Alphabet because of their incredibly unique approach to tried and true subjects. This title has the same great element of suprise and clever, artistic approach that will delight kids (of all ages). I personally have had enormous amounts of fun with it each time I read it aloud!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deceptively simple/delightfully surprising, May 19, 2007

By 

L. L. M. Sanchez (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black? White! Day? Night! - A Book of Opposites (Ala Notable Children's Books (Awards)) (Neal Porter Books) (Hardcover)

Seeger's work looks deceptively simple but is more often than not quite surprising.

Black White Day Night is another lift-the-flap book of opposites that lives up to her other lift-the-flap projects: The Hidden Alphabet and Lemons are Not Red.

Her bright and unfussy illustrations appeal to children and the cleverness of her designs will appeal to adults. I always find myself genuinely surprised when looking through her books which strike me as being very well-thought out and conceptualized.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My daughter loves it, January 18, 2007

By 

R. Bailey (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black? White! Day? Night! - A Book of Opposites (Ala Notable Children's Books (Awards)) (Neal Porter Books) (Hardcover)

My daughter has just turned four, and she loves this book. She likes to try and read along with me, but doesn't recognise words yet. This book of opposites allows her to read along based on the shapes (even from the very first reading, because she could say the opposites). Plus she loves lifting the flaps to see what's underneath.