Concept Books

​Chelsey Bahlmann Bollinger
Concept books play an important role in early childhood education, introducing young readers to foundational ideas like numbers, shapes, letters, and patterns. From Alice Oehr’s Artichoke to Zucchini to Brendan Wenzel’s Shapes, the books reviewed here use captivating illustrations and playful narratives that make them valuable resources for fostering curiosity and early learning.

​Artichoke to Zucchini: An Alphabet of Delicious Things from Around the World. Alice Oehr. (2024). Scribble.
This picture book, dedicated to foodies, takes readers on an alphabetic adventure exploring a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and food favorites of different cultures and countries. As they go through the ABCs, young children in the United States will recognize many food items such as apple, banana, and carrot, but will also find unknowns such as agar jelly, borlotti beans, and capsicums. For each letter of the alphabet, Alice Oehr provides a descriptive paragraph listing the foods pictured in the boldly colored and textured illustrations, rendered in a blend of pencil, pastel, cut paper, and digital collage. These visually stunning images are sure to keep readers engaged while also serving as a fun way to learn about the alphabet and various foods from around the world. (PreK-Gr 2)

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​Cinnamon Bun, I Love You 1. Amy Schwartz. (2024). Beach Lane.
Amy Schwartz guides young readers through counting to ten in a story that follows toddlers and their caregivers as they engage in various activities with large, colorful numerals and a corresponding number of images on the verso pages and a simple rhyming couplet including the phrase “I love you” and a playful scene of the adult and child interacting on the recto page. For example, for 1, a woman affectionately says, “Cinnamon bun, I love you one” while she shares a bun with a toddler on a park bench, and for 5,  a man having a picnic lunch on a blanket with a child says, “Forks and knives, I love you five.” The book ends with ten toddlers sitting around a table eating heart-shaped cookies. (PreS Up) 

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​Colors (Hello Hello). Brendan Wenzel. (2024). Chronicle.
In this beautifully crafted board book, Brendan Wenzel’s stunning artwork, created with cut paper, colored pencil, oil pastels, markers, and digital techniques, and rhythmic text introduce young readers to different colors on double-spread pages featuring a vibrant array of creatures in the animal kingdom as he continues his mission as an animal advocate while subtly raising awareness about wildlife conservation. For example, “Hello BLUE, cool, deep, and bright,” and “Hello RED, so full of life.” In the back matter, an informative list of the more than 60 featured animals, organized in the order of their appearance, each marked with a symbol indicating its conservation status (from near-threatened to critically endangered) fosters an early understanding of environmental stewardship. (PreS Up) 

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Counting Winter. Nancy White Carlstrom. Illus. by Claudia McGehee. (2024). Eerdmans.
Nancy White Carlstrom’s lyrical text and Claudia McGehee’s scratchboard-and-watercolor illustrations capture the serene yet lively essence of winter in scenes featuring various animals that bring the wonders of the winter season to life through poetic language and vibrant imagery. Beginning with “One red fox walks / across the white snow / quietly / stalking winter,” the story unfolds as readers can count from one to twelve animals before a surprise ending. The back matter of this picture book, which offers a rhythmic, sensory-rich way to engage young readers with both numbers and nature during the winter season, includes profiles and fun facts about the featured animals, an author’s note, and an illustrator’s note. (PreK-Gr 2)

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​​Five Speckled Frogs (Sing Along with Me!). Illus. by Yu-hsuan Huang. (2024). Nosy Crow.
This sturdy interactive board book includes movable components to manipulate as young readers engage with the playful verse of the popular nursery rhyme “Five Speckled Frogs” and count down from five to zero while arrows guide them through playful interactions on each page. A scannable QR code provides easy access to instrumental and vocal versions inviting readers to join in a sing-along as the pages are turned. Yu-hsuan Huang’s vibrant illustrations make Five Speckled Frogs a captivating early childhood book to be enjoyed again and again. (PreS Up) 

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​Fun with Shapes (Math All Around). Katie Peters. (2024). Lerner.
This engaging nonfiction book from Lerner’s Pull Ahead Readers series uses repetition and photographs of children drawing various shapes that help young children build confidence as they have fun reading and learning about shapes. Katie Peters incorporates key features including a table of contents, section headings, a vocabulary list, and an index that introduce young readers to elements of informational texts. Teachers will find Fun with Shapes especially useful as a supplemental resource for lessons on basic geometric shapes. With its clear structure and approachable language, this book serves as a versatile tool in both literacy and math instruction for young learners. (PreK-Gr 2) 

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​Go and Get with Rex. David LaRochelle. Illus. by Mike Wohnoutka. (2024). Candlewick.
In this playful story, Jack, Jill, and their dog, Rex, play a game called "Go and Get." On the count of three, the narrator tells them to find an item that starts with a specific letter. The book cleverly incorporates onomatopoeia and speech balloons to help readers guess the items they bring back. Rex, the ever-creative thinker, always brings back the same box but manages to make it work in unexpected ways. For example, when on the hunt for the letter S, the “hisssssssssss!” coming from a sack clues readers that Jack has found a slithering SNAKE and the “sssssspray!” from Jill’s animal cage makes it easy to identify a smelly SKUNK. However, the “Quack! Quack!” from Rex’s box suggests it contains ducks which begins with D not S. Rex makes it clear that the ducks are SISTERS and that Sisters does start with the letter S. The cartoon-like gouache illustrations add a whimsical touch, and the letter being focused on is highlighted in a bright color to emphasize it for readers just beginning to learn the alphabet. (PreK-Gr 2) 

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​Little Fish’s Opposites (Little Fish). Lucy Cousins. (2024). Candlewick.
“Hello! I am Little Fish, / swimming in the sea. / Today I’m learning / opposite. Come / along with me.” Lucy Cousins’ playful board book with a rhyming text and her signature bold and colorful illustrations features Little Fish and his aquatic friends’ exploration of the concept of opposites like big and small, happy and sad, inside and outside, and light and dark. Each pair of opposites is illustrated with fish found in various environments, making the learning experience both fun and visually engaging for young children. For toddlers who are fascinated by the underwater world, Little Fish’s Opposites, like other books in Cousins’ Little Fish series, offers a child-pleasing way to build early language and cognitive skills. (PreS Up) 

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​A Mischief of Mice. Christie Matheson. (2024). Sourcebooks Jabberwocky.
Christie Matheson’s picture book mystery is brimming with an array of collective nouns for animals and watercolor illustrations that capture the enchanting details of a woodland in the fall. The mystery begins when a mischief of mice suddenly disappears, sparking concern among a scurry of squirrels, who worry that another group of animals  such as a skulk of foxes or a parliament of owls, might be responsible for their disappearance. Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, the squirrels embark on a journey through the woods, questioning various animal groups in hopes of finding clues. It is not until the squirrels encounter a sleuth of bears which cleverly points out a clue that they crack the case and locate the missing mice. Young readers will enjoy exploring the appended “Collection of Collective Nouns” section with interesting facts about the 12 animal groups in the story.  (PreK-Gr 2) 

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​On Powwow Day. Traci Sorell. Illus. by Madelyn Goodnight. (2024). Charlesbridge.
Traci Sorell, a member of the Cherokee Nation, and Madelyn Goodnight, from the Chickasaw Nation, beautifully capture the energy and spirit of a Powwow Day in this interactive counting board book. Young readers are drawn into the vibrant colors and sounds of the celebration through vivid imagery and rhythmic onomatopoeia as they count from one to ten and are prompted to look for specific visual elements. For example, 2 “Two drumsticks beat on the family drum. BAM! BAM! Which part is bright orange?” Consider pairing this counting book with Sorrell and Goodnight’s Powwow Day (2022), the heartwarming picture book about the healing power of a family’s participation in this annual event celebrating Indigenous heritage and community that inspired this board book. (PreS Up) 

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​Shapes (Hello Hello). Brendan Wenzel. (2024). Chronicle.
In this Hello Hello board book, Brendan Wenzel introduces 46 different animals, including many classified as near threatened, vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered, cleverly depicted within shapes. He uses illustrations, created with a vibrant mix of cut paper, colored pencil, oil pastel, marker, and digital techniques, and simple text (for example, “Hello tree frogs in a TRIANGLE,” “Hello servals in a CIRCLE,” and “Hello parrots in a PEAR,”) to engage readers in a visually striking way to provide a dual learning experience as readers not only become familiar with the names of these animals but also with different shapes. As in other books in the series, the underlying message of the book is one of awareness and connection. In the author's note, readers are encouraged to simply "get to know" these animals and say "hello," fostering a sense of care and responsibility to ensure these creatures remain with us for generations to come. (PreS Up) 

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Chelsey Bahlmann Bollinger is an Associate Professor in the Early, Elementary, and Reading Department at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.