Usborne Books is one of my favorite companies to get books from. They have unique books for kids that are reasonably priced and superior quality. I have purchased some of their books for gifts and many of them for our house.
My son enjoys books about the ocean and sharks, so I was optimistic when I saw Lift-the-flap Sharks from Usborne. I’ll start off by saying that I was impressed with the hardcover and texture of the pages. They are thick, so they don’t tear easily when young kids flip the flaps or the turn the pages.
The illustrations are impressive as well; it’s probably my favorite part of the book. Creative use of pastels and bright colors make the pages interesting to look at and bring sharks to life in a softer and friendlier way.
There are plenty of flaps for kids to lift throughout the book, which is not that long. Each page highlights another kind of shark, from Great White Sharks to Hammerheads and Thresher Sharks.
My only complaint about this book is that there is an obvious effort to educate people about sharks, but there is very little actual information on the sharks. I know that the target audience if for young kids. However, even my 4-year old son said at the end of the book, “That’s it?”. There is more information on some of the sharks while others only have a sentence dedicated to them, and many are left out completely. Reef and Nurse sharks are not mentioned, but Goblin and Wobbegong Sharks are mentioned.
This book is a part of the Lift-the-flap series. If you are interested in this book, I would recommend trying to get it a part of the series, and not pay the $11.99 for it by itself.