FIRST WORDS

A vocabulary-building board book featuring artifacts from
the collection of the British Museum.

Each item chosen from the museum’s historically and geographically expansive
collection is paired with large, bold text, introducing children to representations
of each term that hail from a variety of cultures. Along with companion title Animals, it showcases a range of
artistic styles, from paintings and prints through plaster of Paris, brass, and
wooden sculptures to well-worn household materials. Although the concept
behind the curation is interesting, unfortunately, neither this title nor Animals
rises above the aesthetic level of a typical board book of its ilk. This title in
particular lacks cohesion, as the images are not organized alphabetically or
according to theme, as many vocabulary books are, making the images and words
feel arbitrary. Several pages feature multiple images that are separated only
by bold blocks of color, which creates a cluttered look. Furthermore, a number
of the artifacts featured in both books appear to have been made during the
pre-independence era in countries that were once part of the British Empire,
suggesting that they may have become part of the collection as a result of
colonization, a fact that the book’s creators leave disturbingly
unaddressed.

A visually interesting but disorganized reader that
features images from a museum with a problematic history. (Board book. 6 mos.-3)