Beat This Book

Can you beat this book?

As you turn the pages, Book sets the reader more and more challenges, some very silly and some only a tiny bit silly. Can you find the smallest dog on the page? Can you make a shape with your body? Can you say a word loudly or slowly or in a high-pitched voice? Which is the most bananas banana? Will you beat Book in all these challenges? 

This is an extremely entertaining read. It’s in picture book format, but it’s not for toddlers. Children aged 4 and above would get the most out of it, as they need to understand various simple concepts (like shapes and word play), and be able to follow the instructions.

All of the questions Book poses ensure the reader is actively participating in the experience – they have to think, to choose, to create, and it’s really fun.

Gemma Correll’s bold, bright illustrations perfectly complement the bossy nature of Book, while the pages are designed so that the text is clear and unfussy, often in speech bubbles. The extra notes make any instructions (like bending a page) very obvious, too, so that an adult can direct a child if necessary. Hilarious.