Picken : Mix and Match the Farm Animals

I love the split-page design- a perfect invitation to peep inside.

Words & Pictures: Mary Murphy
Walker Books/ Baby Walker 2017
Free copy provided by Walker Books in exchange for an honest/unbiased review. 
                                                        
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Back of book

• A mix and match book to share with your baby
• Create different farm animals for imaginative play
• High contrast illustrations for visual stimulation
• The start of a lifelong love of books

This charming book features seven farm animals, but it's split-page design means you can come up with lots of wacky combinations of your own. 

What do you get when you cross a piglet and a puppy? A Pippy! 
Have you ever seen a Gootten or a Lappy? 
Or a Kiglet?!

Older children will enjoy discussion about the animals you create.
Could a Gootten fly?
Would it lay eggs? Where would it sleep?

With it's sturdy easy to manipulate pages, my 2 year old son loved mixing and rearranging the characters, telling me which legs belonged where and laughing at the new names like "Cacken" or "Kippy." 

If your child likes things to be in the correct order, fear not, you can also turn the pages to see these little farm animals as nature intended. For the very young child, this could be a good introduction to the book. My son and I read through Picken a few times before we got to the mixing up bit.  He enjoyed repeating the names and because of the split design, we were both able to turn pages together to reveal the next farm animal. 

While the book is labelled a "Baby Walker," it's  play on vocabulary will appeal to older children too. The scrambling of words is a fun way to develop language skills and encourages children to think about the form and meaning of words, while learning about sounds and syllables. Children will feel inspired to segment , blend their own words and come up with their own animal hybrids. Language can be extended by discussing the animal hybrids: Would a Kicken lay eggs? ( FYI that's a cross between a kitten and a chicken.) What would a Pimb (pig/lamb) like best- grass or mud? There's lots of potential for discussion &  learning and for this reason, I think a preschooler would enjoy this book as much as a two year old.

With it's bold clean colours, cute characters, clear text & quirky design,Picken: Mix and match the farm animals! (Baby Walker) is a delightful follow up to Mary Murphy's Crocopotamus. A fun & interactive book!

Happy Reading, 
Missus B