After the Buzz Comes the Bee: Lift-the-Flap Animal Sounds

PreS-K–This lift-the flap book capitalizes on the appeal of animal sounds and visual guessing games to create a simple yet delightful whole. Each page starts with the fragment “after the” followed by an animal sound, such as buzz, oink, or whoo. When the flap is opened, the animal is revealed visually, along with the name of the animal. It is an incredibly simple idea, but Isadora’s delightfully colorful and appealing illustrations give it life. Children, who are a diverse lot, search for or interact with the animals; the animals range from the expected frog, pig, and sheep, to the more unusual panda, hedgehog, and sloth. The book ends with an older sibling singing a baby to sleep, almost more of inference than a statement, that after the musical notes comes “Zzzzz.” Listeners will love being in on the finale. Isadora’s full-bleed illustrations place the animals in wholly appropriate habitats, while the flaps leave just the right amount to the imagination. This beautiful little book will appeal to toddlers and their parents alike and would work equally well one-on-one or in story time.