Grow Up! [Board book]

Nina Laden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2003 | Grade Level: P and up

From the author and illustrator of the best-selling Peek-a-Who? comes another irresistible board book that's sure to entertain curious babies and toddlers. With peek-a-boo windows featuring adorable baby animals, bright colors and a simple, playful text, Grow Up! takes guessing games for toddlers to a new level!

Honors for Grow Up!:
2004 CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center) Choices selection

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

PreS. This playful board book looks at the nature of growth and change: a kitten becomes a cat; a puppy grows into a dog; a chick, a chicken; a tadpole, a frog. There is a short, rhyming text, and the illustration pages feature cut-out holes that offer windows to what's coming next. This simple concept turns the book into a guessing game, and after a certain number of repetitions, even toddlers will have the satisfaction of getting the answers right every time. "A seedling grows up to be a [turn the page] tree / Baby grows up to be [turn the page and look in the Mylar mirror] ME!" So ends this satisfying board book. Throughout, the simple, energetic drawings and unusual color combinations give the book a look that is less babyish than many other board books, though still quite accessible to young children. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Nina Laden grew up in the New York City area. The daughter of two artists, she studied illustration at Syracuse University. She is the author and illustrator of The Night I Followed the Dog, also published by Chronicle Books.

Product Details

• Board book: 26 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (May 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811837610
• ISBN-13: 978-0811837613
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nina Laden grew up in the New York City area. She now lives in an old farmhouse in Seattle, which she renovated with her husband. She is the author and illustrator of many books for children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grow Up, March 23, 2008

By 

A. D. Cox (northern PA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Grow Up! (Board book)

This is a nice board book that introduces children to growing up. A kitten becomes a cat, a caterpiller a butterfly. Nice art work and children love it!

Author of "Hobo Finds A Home"

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grow Up is a Wow!, October 21, 2003

By 

Michelle "michellesays" (U.S.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grow Up! (Board book)

Author illustrator Nina Laden delivers a clever concept book in eye-catching acrylics. In simple patterned text and peekaboo windows, children will discover what different living things grow up to be. A playful kitten watches two orange and black fish swimming in a tank. The fish are drawn inside a window. Turn the page and the fish become eyes of a grown cat. Some of the figures may be familiar to your child, like the kitten or a puppy. Others may be delightfully fresh, such as a tadpole or a seedling. Square in shape, this board book is perfectly sized for eager little hands. The mirror on the last page reflects your little one's face that is sure to be smiling! When we discovered this book, my girls (aged 3 yrs 9 mos and 2) asked me to read it again and again. I knew I had a hit! We plan to search for Laden's previous books as well.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grow Up with Great Books !, June 1, 2003

By 

Jenah "nwmama" (Kenmore, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Grow Up! (Board book)

I was so excited to find out that Nina Laden had come out with another board book. My 22 month old daughter really loves this new one and has practically memorized it. (She has already loved to death Peek-a-Who and Ready, Set, Go!)

At this age, my daughter is beginning to grasp the concept of little to big. It's a lot of fun to see her apply what she has learned from Grow Up! to the world around her. She is currently fascinated with differentiating babies and big girls, and from the number of times I have had to clean her kisses and nose prints off the book she obviously can't get enough of being a "big girl."

My daughter and I love the illustrations in this book (as with all of them); they are vivid, playful and clever. We have had a lot of fun making up silly guesses as to what is on the next page, and although we have read the book a couple hundred times now, she still gets excited to turn the page and announce what the image has grown up to be.

I would recommend this book concept-wise for children over eighteen months, but because there is so much to look at and talk about in the book I would also highly recommend it for any age.