This book is the opposite of BAD! (Opposites Race - Irene Kilpatrick)

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	Opposites Race - Irene Kilpatrick
Date:	02/07/09 (46 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent illustrations, educational for very young children

Disadvantages: Older children may not like the lack of text

When my dear friend came to England from New York on a flying visit last month she came bearing gifts for my granddaughters', as usual. She knew exactly what to buy the twelve and ten year olds as she knows them very well but the toddler is a complete mystery to her, character merchandise in the US is even bigger business than here in the UK so she emailed me a few days before her trip asking me to send a list of all my little granddaughter's favourite characters in order for her to choose some appropriate presents.

One brand I have had some trouble sourcing is The Backyardigans, a television programme shown throughout the day on Nick Jnr which features a group of cuddly little cartoon friends who use their imagination to create adventures and excitement. My granddaughter has always liked the programme and has become increasingly enamoured with the antics of Pablo, Uniqua, Tyrone, Austin and Tasha but has just a solitary soft toy based on one of the characters so I asked Jean to look out for something to do with them if possible. Yet again she came up trumps and amongst other items (too many items I told her!) was a book called 'Opposites Race' which is an educational book for very young children featuring the wonderfully cute Backyardigans.

Opposites Race is a very well made 26 page board book with a slightly padded glossy cover, it looks absolutely fantastic being brightly coloured and featuring four of the Backyardigans having a race in a picture which wraps around from the front cover to the back. The book appealed instantly to my granddaughter who sat and studied the cover for ten minutes before even opening it's pages.

This is a very straight forward book for your little one. It starts with Uniqua setting the scene; she points at a crudely drawn map and tells everyone else "Okay, racers! It's time to race. Ready, set, go!" and the Opposites Race begins! Each page then features a set of opposites which relate to the story, one word is on the left hand page along with an picture to illustrate the point and then it's opposite word is matched with another picture on the right hand page.

I like the way the author and illustrator have cleverly made each set of opposites directly fit in with the race theme, for example the first double page shows Tasha skiing down a mountain with the word 'SLOW' and Pablo on a snow buggy which has the word 'FAST'. The entire book goes on like this with the scene changing every couple of pages to prevent the young reader becoming bored of seeing such similar pictures on each page, every setting for the Backyardigans is wonderfully brightly coloured and the characters always look so cheerful that this book really does bring a smile to my face so I can well understand why my granddaughter loves it so much.

I was a little concerned when I first looked at the book that my granddaughter wouldn't appreciate the fact that there is no text in the book other than the opposite words but I needn't have worried as I quickly saw that the story actually speaks for itself completely so the adult reader can embroider it as much or as little as they like. I've stuck to the 'racing to the moon' story which is the direction in which the illustrations take us, but I literally shook with laughter listening to a far more outlandish story that my ten year old granddaughter related to her little sister.

The little one's reaction to Opposites Race has been excellent, she absolutely adores the book - although as a real little bookworm she has many, many books that she absolutely adores but this one has sparked her interest greatly which is probably due to the fact that she has so few Backyardigans items in her toy box. At just turned two she's perhaps a little young to really comprehend the whole opposites thing but by reading the book with her and emphasising the words I think eventually it will help her to understand the concept. Having said that, just yesterday she was strolling up the garden with the book in her hand and she shouted 'slow, Nanny' then she started running and squealing 'fast, fast' so it looks like some of the opposite words are sinking in.

My friend knows all about my Dooyoo scribblings so wasn't in the slightest offended when I asked how much the book had cost, she paid $5.99 for it from www.amazon.com - and strangely it has now appeared on our very own UK Amazon site priced at £4.99. I swear it wasn't there last month when I asked my friend for Backyardigans stuff as I scoured the site in May while buying for my granddaughter's birthday which was in early June - but now they seem to be stocking quite a decent range of the characters so it looks like her luck might be in!

Summary: A wonderful book for any Backyardigans fan.