LoveBlock, tweaks the block books for the better

We’ve been fans of the Abrams Block Books since AlphaBlock came out and taught our then three-and-a-half-year-old his letters. Internally, I’m going whaaa, it’s really been eight years? That comes for both the age of our oldest son and how long it’s been since we received AlphaBlock. That book series evolved into dinosaurs, numbers, building, Disney, Marvel, and more. With LoveBlock the series from Christopher Franceschelli with art by Peskimo has changed again, albeit in a very subtle way.

Love is not a quantifiable thing. It’s an uncountable noun that’s great to have around, awkward when it’s not, something that people might spend their life looking for, and has a polar opposite that’s around far too much. In LoveBlock readers will more of a story than they’re used to in their board books. It’s a simple story. However, considering that the previous books in the series have had two pages devoted to a letter or character, the fact that it has doubled or tripled for each ‘love’ instance is something worth celebrating.

It’s a form of teaching an old dog a new trick. If you picked up previous entries in the Abrams Block Books you were immediately aware of the quality, but their format was similar. However, keep in mind that the intended age for these books are those young children aged one through three. It’s doubtful that they picked up on the two pages per character or entry pattern.

LoveBlock has four pages and even those have various interactive elements. On page one it says “Love is”. Page two has the elephant’s trunk cut out, revealing the next page that continues his home on the African savannah. When you turn the page “a Journey” is on page three. Page four has a mother elephant holding trunks with a baby. That page also has one that’s folded over onto it. When you turn that we see a larger spread with the mother elephant’s tail connected to the baby’s trunk as they walk with the rest of the herd.

Other animal spreads are equally as entertaining. Some of the instances of family love have a gatefold that opens up, down or out, and then have a normal two-page spread to end that animal’s story. Love has time to hang out, is for everybody, brave and so many more things that you know it is, and is perfectly captured in LoveBlock.

The construction in the Block books is off of the charts. The spine is thick, its front and back cover are three times as thick as the pages, and the pages themselves are poster board grade thickness. While LoveBlock is a children’s book, its message of love and family makes the book at home in waiting room, as a unique gift to a friend, elementary school library or your children’s reading wall. The evolution in the Block books is great, now if they could get around to doing the Periodic Table I’ll really be impressed.

LoveBlock is by Christopher Franceschelli with art by Peskimo and available on Abrams Appleseed, an imprint of Abrams Books. 

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