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Everything You Want to See (Kyle Hughes-Odgers, Fremantle Press) 

From a dog to a dinosaur, from a butterfly to a lion’s roar, this fun and eclectic collection of ‘things’ is everything you want to see when you are a toddler. Award-winning author and illustrator Kyle Hughes-Odgers presents his early childhood audience with Everything You Want to See, a delightful rhyming board book that is full of charm and visual wit. The seemingly random things to see range from the common—a gorilla, a fairy, a tiny flea, a boat on the sea, some trucks and a plane—to the fantastical—‘a bin that stinks and a king who drinks’, an electric guitar–playing alien and a giant cake with a ladder. Hughes-Odgers engages with rhyming couplets, interactive questioning and simple, instructional language while injecting humour and wonder to each spread. Elements in the text are highlighted in the same colours as the energetic retro-style freehand digital illustrations, animated with navy, olive green, butterscotch yellow and bold burnt oranges and reds, as well as a range of textures and patterns. Everything You Want to See is a colourful, chucklesome and thoughtful exploration of the world for children from birth to three, encouraging curiosity to search for everything—from the tiny to the huge, from the realistic to the utterly imaginary. 

Romi Sharp is a picture book writer and digital marketer for children’s authors and publishers. 

 

Category: Junior Reviews