Flip Flap Farm by Axel Scheffler (review)

Eleven common animals are introduced here with a jaunty two-stanza verse (“My fleece is fluffy, soft, and white”) and a simple, hearty full-page illustration. The trick here, however, is that the spiral-bound pages are horizontally bisected at a neatly hybrid point in both text and art, so that viewers can turn the above sheep into a “shabbit,” a “shicken,” or a “shig.” The verse here is cheerful, but it’s mostly greeting-card-style filler, failing to add anything to the concept or to maximize the humor potential of the mismatched couplings the way text in other such split-page books (Moerbeek’s New at the Zoo, BCCB 11/89) does. However, the concept remains inviting, and the layout details (the animal’s name running vertically next to the poem, the animal’s utterance appearing both on top and bottom halves of the page, background colors providing additional color-coding and emphasis of the mismatch) add visual appeal and coherence; the spiral binding is particularly helpful, allowing kids to mix and match freely without straining the book. Scheffler’s wide-eyed animals are archetypal yet personable, often smiling faintly as they carefully pose for maximum meetup possibility. Even kids who can’t read the poetic text will appreciate the Frankenpossibilities, and the experience will prepare kids (if not necessarily immediately) for Prelutsky’s Scranimals (BCCB 10/02).