Snuggly is one of those adjectives that couples in the early phases of their relationships, as well as, parents to kids under two can earnestly use. It is a very appropriate adjective that correctly describes its intention. The ability to be seen as cuddling up with is a rare commodity. Are You Snuggly? is a playful board book that goes through a handful of animals and the very descriptive, and uncommon words used to describe them.
Hopy, poky and sting-y aren’t common adjectives. Heck, sting-y as it’s used in Are You Snuggly? is more possibly confused with stingy, which means unwilling to spend. However, when you playfully put the dash and a ‘y’ following it, you’ve got a word that describes anything that’s capable of stinging. It also is most certainly not snuggly.
A lizard is skittery. That is a legitimate word that means restless, easily frightened or movement that’s difficult to determine which direction it’s headed next. It’s also a word that many middle school students would be hard pressed to quickly define. They could pantomime its meaning, but surely could not use it in an essay.
The worm asks the lizard if it’s snuggly. The lizard, in turn, asks the turtle if it’s snuggly. The turtle says that it’s snappy. A couple of more animals enter the discourse until the porcupine, who is poky, asks if the puppy is snuggly. The puppy owns up to being so cute that you want to snuggle with it, but also states that it knows someone even snugglier. When toddlers turn the page they’ll be greeted to a circular, mirror-like cut out that reveals them to be snuggly.
These are the simple joys of a board book. Will toddlers and pre-k kids laugh at the book? Are those ages able to carry it around in one of their chubby hands? If you’re new to the world of board books the answer to those questions is most likely yes. However, the thing that you need to ask yourself is, is the book well-constructed?
You’re not in book publishing or book design, so what do you look for in a well-made board book? It all comes down the spine. Is the spine thick? Does the spine separate from the pages, allowing the pages to almost fold flat? If the pages are about as thick as a quarter and have that feature when you open it all the way up, the book is strong.
Are You Snuggly? is a well-constructed board book with cute animals, basic, repetitive questions and a finale that will make them laugh the first time that they see it. For a period of time Are You Snuggly? will be their best book friend, until it isn’t. One day they’ll discover early chapter books or illustrated books and look back is disgust at the juvenile time that they needed to read board books. However, they might start to read those board books to their younger siblings. They’ll see the joy in their posture, as well as, their faces that these happy stories can bring to young ages. They also might remember the obscure adjectives that some board books brought them, like pecky and diggy, and grin again at things that might be snuggly.
Are You Snuggly? is by Tim Button with illustrations by Ana Martin Larrangaga and is available on The Collective Book Studio.
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