Amazon.com Review
With its simple rhyming text, vibrant pictures, "peekaboo" windows, and small board-book format,
Ready, Set, Go! is ideal for curious young minds and hands. On alternating two-page spreads, the words "ready/set" are repeated, opposite an illustrated page with a die-cut hole. Readers guess what's behind each window, then turn the page to discover the text ("ROW!," "BLOW," "GROW!" etc.) and charming illustrations of a comically desperate sailor oaring away from circling sharks, a little girl blowing luminous bubbles. There's also a fantastic spinning flower that changes from yellow to purple with the turn of a tab. The book is sturdy enough to withstand the many happily clutching fingers that are bound to make their way into the baby-fist-size holes. For more peekaboo fun, investigate Nina Laden's
Peek-a Who?. (Baby to preschool)
--Emilie Coulter
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Simple repetitive text presents the phrase, "Ready/Set," and a word that rhymes with "go." None of the concepts are related, but the illustrations clearly represent the words: go, blow, row, snow, and grow. The only exception is the picture for "THROW!" which is not well rendered. The cartoon people appear flat and awkward, but the objects are effectively drawn. The format will attract toddlers. Beginning with the cover, every other recto page has a circle cut out of the center; youngsters handling the book will enjoy the tactile sensation of exploring the shape as well as the excitement of a peek at the next page. Unfortunately, though the whole book is sturdily built, the last page ("GROW!"), in which a sliding tab reveals a purple flower in place of a yellow sun, is more flimsy and requires the manual dexterity of an older child.
Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
