An explosive array of colors and patterns bursts forth when the audience artfully determines the final product.
Beginning with the die-cut cover, design elements initially convey a rigid style (a straight-lined grid appears in view) then morphs into unapologetic polka-dots. Divided into physical thirds, each flap contains two radically different designs; the boards easily move independently, producing intense results. Smudges of paint collide; swirls dip, dart and dive with a hectic flurry. Readers can contrast bold paint smears, squiggled lines and stark geometric pieces against one another within off-kilter patterns all the way through to the final abstract scene. The elongated portrait-oriented trim allows the rich paintings to stretch into each far-reaching corner. All of Tullet's entries in the Let's Play Games series (each title beginning The Game of...) allow slight interactive variations within their wordless or direction-based narratives. ... Mix and Match is the most stylistically similar to ... Mix-Up Art, with striking objects divided among four flaps per page in a hodgepodge of visual imagery (create a half balloon, half lemon). ... Patterns utilizes sturdy backgrounds to line up a striking, angled menagerie of faces or a fluid free-for-all of expressive lines and repetitive movements. ... Let's Go's distinct voice encourages closed eyes and extended fingers to dance along a velvety green line, a dramatic trip through loops, around circles and throughout patterned mazes while imposing cut-out images create stumbling blocks along the way. Comprehensive cut-outs in ... Finger Worms call for digits again; pointers thrust through the holes serve as people's faces or hide along the pipes. ... Light features spare text when the darkened night brings out an impressive range of interior die-cut designs with a stirring conclusion. "Fish swim across the walls! / Everything flies around! / Faces light up the room! / And a shooting star leads you to sleep."
All of these works will inspire young artists (and their caregivers) that it's not necessary—or even desirable—to stay within the lines. (Board book. 3-4)
