Why The Face

by Jean Jullien (Artist), Meagan Bennett (Designer)

A hilarious guessing game of facial reactions created by the author of bestselling This Is Not A Book Jean Jullien tickles the funnybone once again with a book of facial overreactions. Faces are presented first, allowing the reader to wager predictions of what may have prompted such an expression, before the dramatic answer is revealed. Why the face? reads the text alongside an agitated boy with eyes and nose scrunched up. Pick up the full-page flap to reveal a whole mess of smelly items, from stinky socks to an oozing trash can, and the text, Whoa, that stinks . Jullien masterfully provides enough clues for the reader to piece together the narrative, including both predictable and surprising scenarios. Based on young children's natural fascination with faces, this book encourages readers to practice empathy and build emotional intelligence, with cleverly simplified and humorously satisfying vignettes. A brilliant addition to Phaidon's growing Jean Jullien board book library. Ages 2-4

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Emotion, Humor

32 pages, Board Book

First published November 1, 2018

About the author

Jean Jullien is a graphic designer who works in a wide range of media, including illustration, photography, video, installation, and clothing. Originally from France, he now lives in London and regularly exhibits his work in both places.

Reviews

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why the face? Look at the picture. Why is she making that face? What is going on? Can you figure it out?

This board book, with foldout pages and simple text that is assisted by the illustrations, is full of surprises and fun.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome lift-the-flap book about facial expressions. The illustrations are funny and a range of skin tones are present.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son is 3 and very focused on facial expressions and emotions right now, so he is loving this so far. Each face has a unique expression and then you lift the (nice heavy paperstock, good quality) flap to find the reason for the face. Most of them are straightforward (wrinkled nose disgusted face links to gross stinky garbage), but I did find the too much screen time one to be a bit esoteric. Spirals in the eyes mean "dizzy" to my son, so he doesn't really get it.

I can see this being really helpful right now as he is super interested in faces (and he doesn't speak very well/clearly yet so he has already referenced the "too loud" picture once to communicate I was being loud, that's really great!) but is likely aimed at younger children and will be good for when our next baby is born, to grow with her.

[Kacey Lundgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

My three year old loved this book. We’ve read it more than a few times now. Good practice for recognizing facial emotions! Plus, she loves that it’s a lift the flap book.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why the Face? by Jean Jullien. BOARD BOOK. Phaidon, 2018. $15. 9780714877198

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K – ESSENTIAL.

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

One page asks, “Why the face?” and the opposing page has an illustration with someone making a dramatic face. When you lift the flap with the face on it you see what caused the face.
This book is so much fun. It’s fun to guess what the face is for and it’s funny when you learn whats behind the flap. My favorite is a dazed face with technology behind the flap.

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, if you are a parent or grandparent, this is the board book to get for the little child in your life. There are also wonderful board books that have puppets that pop through an opening in each page. I'll find the titles and enter them too.

This one is brilliant. Simple, hilarious and perfect for little ones one to three years old. Fantastic illustrations and pages that open to give labels to the faces. Oh, I love being a grandma to Beatrice...names for Beezus of "Beezus and Ramona" fame.

[Alison Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each page has an expressive cartoon face along with the question "why the face?" Then each flap opens to reveal the impetus for their expression (something stinky, something loud, etc.) along with a short response. I particularly appreciated that the bugs elicited two responses (happy and grossed out) - not everybody is grossed out by bugs/snakes/etc.

Flaps, great expressions, and humor make for a winner. Be prepared to read this one a million times!

[Jacki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why the Face? features a different face on each page, asking the title question. Folding open the center page reveals why the child was making each face.

I really like that the focus of this book is simple and obvious. The silly faces on each of the pages would be a great tool to use for inferring why the child is making the face, as well as what emotion they might be feeling. The bright colors and big font and images are very attractive, with no extra busy feel to the content.

[Eva_Amaré · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mama is on a a roll with all these great books lately. Keep it up, we're proud of you. So much fun making all these silly faces and opening the foldout pages to see the cause of said faces. The people don't all look the same either, which mama said is a good thing, because diversity is important. 😊😣😝😔😵😬

[Great Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bold cartoon drawings of a facial expression on each page will engage both toddlers and adults! Readers are asked to interpret the expression with the repeated phrase, “Why the face?” Foldout pages reveal the amusing stories with simplicity and wit. Fans of “Before & After” will love this for a gift.

Reviewer #4

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A BB that introduces very young children to the different facial expressions we make. This would be a wonderful book to 'mirror' - making the faces to the child as you read the book. One of my professors told us that there were many facial expressions that could 'alert' you to potential danger. But in this case every expression safe to express!

[Rebecca Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an all star book! This was an instant hit with a group of 40 preschoolers. We all made the face, talked about what would cause it and then revealed the answer. Great, bold illustrations with a lot of style!

[Eva Little · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mamá says:
Eva is at that point of her life where she not only recognises faces but tries to imitate them. I’d like to think she can recognise some of these faces even though this might be wishful thinking.

Eva says:
I’m a sucker for anything that folds out.

[Freddie D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun book to read with toddlers: full of opportunities for engagement and interaction throughout. I loved pulling each of the faces and guessing what could be prompting them, only to have the answer revealed beneath the foldout pages!

[Erin]

A simple lift-the-flap concept. Each spread starts with "Why the face?" then shows a face, and then you lift the flap up to see what the face is in response to. Not all are directly categorizable as feelings, but you could still talk about feelings and reactions.

The final face is bedtime.

[Annie Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome board book for facial expressions!!!!

[Kirsti Call · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and engaging!

[Kelly Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book for exploring facial cues and expressions.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book to use for an interactive Book Talk!

[Miss Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soren loooooves this one.

[Stefanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great board book by Jullien.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might work in toddler time for emotions.

[Gabi · Rating 3 out of 5]

possibly for a storytime about emotions / expressions / feelings / faces
cute lift the flap concept

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for emotion recognition. A fun guessing game for toddlers.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son loved lifting the flaps. Cute way to learn about expressions.

[Linda Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

First is my favorite ;-)

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be fun for a Toddler Tales that talks about emotions. I like trying to predict what is causing the certain facial expression!

[Milton Louie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What does the face tell you? B

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun guessing why the face!

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book with fold out pages that first shows a facial expression and then asks "Why the face?" allowing children to guess what caused the expression. Could be fun for toddler storytime.