Review: Opposites

By: Sandra Boynton

Little Simon; 1984; unpaged

Board Book

Ages: 6 mos- 2 years

ISBN: 0-671-44903-6

Sandra Boynton's signature and classic animal drawings depict a variety of elementary opposite pairs such as whisper and shout; fast and slow; day and night; and hot and cold.

My Thoughts:

This is a good board book. The pictures accurately portray contrasting word pairs in simple and often humorous ways. The line drawings are enticing and graphic, while the colors, though pastel, are used in bold chunks. The text itself is very simple and formulaic, consisting of merely of the two opposite phrases. The font-type often reinforces the concept as well. "Heavy" is bold, while "light" is fine, for example. As far as textual interaction goes, babies can point to which part of the illustration is which. It is very appropriate to the board book format and the age group.

However, its appropriateness aside, this is not my favorite of Boynton's books. It is missing the joy of Moo, Baa, La La La or the endearing nature of But Not the Hippopotamus. As far as its purpose as a concept book goes, it teaches the opposites, but goes no further. There is nothing surprising or special. I wouldn't rush out to buy it for a friend, or go out of my way to acquire it for a library. There are other opposite books that do the same thing, only better. (Rainbow Fish Opposites, or Yummy Yucky.)Still, if you are wanting to complete a Boynton collection or merely looking for an additional concept book, it will meet your needs.

The Thoughts of Others:

Perhaps since the book has been around for a while, or perhaps because it is a board book, I was unable to find any editorial/critical reviews. However, I found a lot of reader reviews on Amazon and other sites..some negative, and some positive:

"I found this book to be one of the most confusing and complex series of illustrations for opposites--to date. I've got a very sharp little 16 mo. old and he was completely lost, which is not typical for him. "

"The major downside in this book is the words. They still flow nicely and rhyme without strain, but they lack some little charm that almost all of the other Boynton books have."

"A cute and happy book for toddlers and preschoolers, to help introduce simple concepts of up and down, heavy and light, day and night etc. Boynton's simple, clear and cheerful drawings always appeal to little people. Good for toddlers to kindergarten age." Please note that this reviewer recommends it for a non-board book age group!