Clap Hands
A teacher’s look at why this book belongs in the Page Grabbers stage.
Why it fits Page Grabbers (for young toddlers who treat books as things to do)
Four babies clap, wave, and bang the drum - and your toddler will too. Oxenbury's round, joyful babies practically demand imitation. Movement is how this age reads.
What makes it special
Oxenbury's four babies do exactly what the title says, and toddler readers join in involuntarily — the book conducts them. Her round, weighty babies are drawn with such physical truth that pediatricians could teach from them. It's participatory media older than the word, and it still works instantly.
From the publisher
A group of infants have fun…
About Helen Oxenbury
Helen Oxenbury is among the most honored illustrators alive — two Kate Greenaway Medals — and effectively invented the modern baby-book aesthetic: round, weighty, real babies doing real baby things. Her drawings are used in child-development training.
She began in theater design, married fellow picture-book giant John Burningham, and turned to baby books partly because, with small children herself, short projects were all that fit between naps.
Also by this author: We're Going on a Bear Hunt (illustrator) · Tickle, Tickle · All Fall Down
More from “Books That Do Things”
This book is part of The Best Books for Toddlers: 30 Teacher Picks (Page Grabbers) in our guide The Best Children’s Books by Age — 120 books chosen by the Montessori-certified teachers at Creative Minds Montessori in Frisco, TX. Come see how we build readers →
Nobody paid for this review — not the author, not the publisher — and the store link above earns us nothing. Our only interest is the reader this book fits.