This work follows a baby through the day. A series of holes peeping through to the next page leads the young child on to the next stage of the day, giving a hint of what is to come.
Peepo!
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
There is a newer edition of this item:
|
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
About the Author
Janet and Allan Ahlberg were one of Britain’s most successful artist/author teams. From 1975 until shortly before Janet’s death in 1994, they created many acclaimed picture books.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I read this book to my children and they loved it. I am now reading it to my grandchildren and buying it as a baby gift for friends. Kids seem to love the rhyming and the illustrations are so detailed there is lots of fun to be had looking for things in them. It's a great bedtime book too.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Christina
Format:Board book
This is a book I often send as a gift for new babies. My son is two and a half and has loved to have this book read to him since he was a few months old. The concept is what a baby can see. The story is told in a catchy rhyme which is fun to read (a plus for the parent who reads a lot of books to their child!) and easy to listen to. The board book has the added attraction of cut out round holes to give us the baby's view of the world - 'Peepo!'. For the baby or toddler listening to the story this is a bonus as they can put their hands through the hole and add a new sensation to the experience. The illustrations themselves give a nostalgic view of working class family life in post-war Britain. They are crammed with detail and give the child plenty to look at and for while listening to the story. The best kind of story reading experience for the very young child.
Format:Board book
This is one of the great ones. At one level Peepo is geared to very small children. Each page gives us a different glimpse of a baby's day, as the adults in his world go about their obscure yet urgent tasks. Our initial view of each full-page illustration is through a big hole in the centre of the page. A rhyming text describes the picture, and asks "what does he see?". The beautiful pictures are full of the gentle humour and double takes that are an Ahlberg trademark and their depiction of family life is dead on. My favourite is the two little sisters fiercely contending for the right to hold baby, even as he pulls the victor's hair and does just about everything else he can to make her rue that victory. The text is sweet and simple, never cloying, and perfect for small children, with lots of repetition, rhyme and rhythm, yet enough variety to keep things interesting. It talks to the child the way I wish more adults would, in a forthright, yet sympathetic (and not patronizing) tone. That baby is priceless, and his antics alone are worth the price of admission.
What puts Peepo into the "great book" category, for me, however, is the deeper answer it seems to pose to the question "what does he see?". For the illustrations hint at a story far deeper and darker than the words suggest, and seemingly targetted at adults, not children. It's easy to ignore these hints at first, but as they accumulate Peepo begins to feel more like an glimpse into an Eddic realm than a toddler one.
I use this book as an intelligence test on my friends, since about 90% of them cannot detect this hidden story and miss the hints. It is also an interesting small group exercise, since a team of 4 or 5 working together can usually eventually work out there is something much more to the pictures than initially meets the eye.
I think Peepo is a powerful illustration of the argument that we refuse to see what won't match our preconceptions, since there are things in the Peepo illustrations I have never ever seen in another book aimed at small children, yet these just don't register the first few times you look at the book. Most people don't (and perhaps can't) answer "what does he see" correctly.
Peepo's hidden message is all the more powerful for its poignant subtlety. Lots of authors have tried to say what Peepo does, but none has ever succeeded so brilliantly, in my estimation. And those who succeed in decoding Peepo may find themselves confronting bigger questions, such as why is that message so hard for us to receive and what drove the creators to bury their treasure so deep, and with such incredible art?
I have never read another small children's book that has haunted me like Peepo. Once decoded, it leaves an aftertaste more reminiscent of e.e. cummings than more typical toddler fare. And "solving" it only multiplies the mysteries. Yet mysteries aside, it is a wonderful book for small children. I have had great fun reading it to the 2- and 3-year- olds in my life. Its hints of a darker world-drama beyond the crib never once overshadow the brilliant beauty and innocence of this book, at least for the young children it will be read to.
I strongly recommend this book for small children, particularly in the board book format for those who like to try to tear books (although the larger illustrations in the softback format are nicer). Some 4-year-olds and up may fancy themselves too sophisticated for it.
Want to see more reviews on this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 7 reviews
4.4 out of 5 stars
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
