TPR. I remember being taught that when I first started teaching ESL. Essentially, TPR is engaging tactile senses, like touching or physically moving something to reinforce a new concept. Spooky Pants, A Turn the Wheel Book is a board book that takes that principle, gives it laughs and a fun Halloween board book vibe to educate and entertain crawlers through pre-k.
One of the main aspects that those buying board books need to look out for is its durability. If it’s a lift-the-flap book then will the flaps stay glued down onto the pages? The same query goes for whatever device the board book has-will said device last more than a couple of readings? You also need to look at the spine of the board book. Does the spine easily bend? I’ve seen lots of board books whose spine separates from the pages after just a couple of times being read.
From that aspect, Spooky Pants nails all of them down to the childproofed preschool floor. The spine is strong and can easily support small hands that quickly open the book and fold it down flat. Most importantly, the turn-the-wheel aspect of the book passes with flying colors. The wheels on the different pages spin easily and have approximately 3/4” for those young fingers to grasp and turn. Each page is 1/8” thick, which is very thick for a board book. All of this adds up to a book that’s physically above the crowd in terms of construction and its interactive element.
Thankfully, Spooky Pants also delivers in regards to its content. Readers will meet eight different age-appropriate monsters or costumed characters who have either a head or lower torso that rotates. We meet Midnight the Cat, but he needs help finding his boots. To Midnight’s left, we see three things that Midnight has on. There’s a feathered hat, swishy sword, and of course, his shiny boots. As you turn the durable wheel his lower torso moves between some mummy legs, a fancy ballroom dancer’s dress, someone who is at the beach, and of course, his blue, shiny boots.
When you turn the page we see Whizzy the Wizard whose head moves between a robot, a clown, a queen, and his own. The wizard and the cat share the same wheel, they’re just on opposite sides of it. Spooky Pants is undeniable fun and will even suck in those older readers who think they’re too cool for a turn-the-wheel book. A great example of this is that I can’t stop turning the pages as I’m trying to describe them to you.
On the final page, we see all 32 combinations that each character can produce by turning the wheel. If you have an active toddler, or just a toddler, they’ll easily spend time trying to find each combination. They’ll then thumb back through the book looking for that 33rd combination that exists in their imagination and will appear on the board book pages if they just think hard enough. Spooky Pants is well constructed and highly entertaining. It’ll last multiple Halloweens and is entertaining enough to merit looking at during other times of the year too.
Spooky Pants is by Mara van der Meer, Natalie Munday and Kylie Hamley with illustrations by David Creighton-Pester and is on Priddy Books.
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