From breakfast to bedtime, Fiona Woodcock’s Look has one theme: “oo” words. Luckily for us, “oo” abounds. In fact, you might be surprised at how many of these words Woodcock fits into her simple but charming story about a trip to the zoo.
Incorporating stamps and stencil art into her illustrations, Woodcock makes creative use of her minimal text. Double “o” words are cleverly integrated into each illustration: “Shampoo” is written in floating bubbles; “food” features a pair of fried eggs; “goodnight” can be spotted in a cuddly duo of stuffed bears. Woodcock lets her images carry the story forward, and animal antics entertain and add a touch of whimsy. Woodcock clearly has fun with her art, filling one page with ice cream sprinkles and another with pink pollen from a sneeze-inducing field of flowers.
Bright colors and simple shapes make Look delightfully appealing and cheerful, while its lights-out ending makes it an ideal bedtime book. Look is full of easy-to-learn sight words for beginning readers, and it will also find a home in classrooms, serving as inspiration for English lessons. Even nonreaders can keep up with this book’s straightforward plot.
This article was originally published in the July 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.
