I Can Do It Myself
by Valorie Fisher; 
photos by the author
Preschool, Primary    Schwartz & Wade/Random    40 pp.
7/14    978-0-449-81593-9    $17.99    g

Tiny poseable dolls help young children celebrate the many concepts they need to learn. Fisher (Everything I Need to Know Before I’m Five, rev. 7/11) includes the basics for preschoolers and kindergartners: left and right; how to hold a pencil; writing numbers and letters; counting; recognizing shapes, colors, and patterns; and the basics of dressing and eating. Little plastic dolls and toys are photographed against bright, solid-colored backgrounds, cleverly demonstrating each idea. In addition, close-ups of human hands and feet are occasionally shown handling scissors, shoelaces, pencils, toothbrushes, and one delicious-looking pitcher of lemonade. Most spreads stand alone, and the book has an extremely loose arc, starting with school skills and ending up with personal autonomy and manners. Kids will enjoy following all the tiny plastic toys, which accompany the alphabet, number, and sight-word pages. This sunny volume will help children build independence and also remind adults of just how capable very young ones can and should be, allowing those children to find new challenges. Now, go teach your four-year-old to make his bed!

From the July/August 2014 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.