Alison Jay's First Words

Little ones will be counting their luck when they get their hands on two delightful board books packed with the beguiling artwork of Alison Jay. Jay, a graduate of the London College of Printing and the critically acclaimed illustrator of many books for children, combines words and her distinctive artwork on each page to create a colourful introduction to familiar words that will appeal to both children and their parents. With simple, bright illustrations of endearing animals and everyday objects that the very youngest children will recognise, Jay draws on nursery rhymes and fairy tales to reinforce early concepts. In Alison Jay's 123, youngsters join in a fairy-tale adventure, counting from one to ten as they follow the dreams of a sleeping girl, meet favourite characters from fairy tales and folk stories, and then make the journey back again. Along the way, parents can help their little ones to count the frog princes, tot up the adorable gingerbread men and see if they can find the number of matching dwarves. In First Words, there are more wonderful illustrations for children and grown-ups to share as each page creates an introduction to familiar words. Find the sand castle, enjoy the red kite flying over the sea and marvel at the fisherman's hat with its row of jaunty bait round the top. Fabulously illustrated and robust enough to withstand the onslaught of little hands, these clever books are the ideal introduction to the concept of words and counting. * Lancashire Evening Post *

First Words begins with a grandfather clock face surrounded by decorative images that point to the four seasons and to what is to follow on subsequent pages. There are visual allusions to nursery rhymes in addition to the opening Hickory Dickory Dock (yes there's a mouse atop the clock); we see Jack and Jill climbing up the 'hill'; while for instance, 'hat' and 'fish' allude to '12345 once I caught a fish alive'
The book spans a whole day, but moves through the seasons too. Featuring seemingly random objects, Jay also uses foreshadowing in this book - an added talking point for children and adults; and each page having just a single word leaves readers free to make up their own stories.
In fact I see both these not so much as concept books but as starting points for promoting talk and visual literacy

-- Jill Bennett * Red Reading Hub *