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Flip, Flap, Fly!: A Book for Babies Everywhere
Infectious rhymes, sunny illustrations, and an array of baby animals make an irresistible page-turner for the youngest of listeners.
Little readers are invited to join these baby animals as they fly, swim, wiggle, and slide, all with the help of their mamas. But what these babies like best, of course, is spotting other baby animals! With the buoyant rhythms of Phyllis Root and David Walker’s cheerful illustrations, here is a guaranteed favorite for babies and toddlers, who will love shouting out the rhyming word sure to come on the next spread.
Little readers are invited to join these baby animals as they fly, swim, wiggle, and slide, all with the help of their mamas. But what these babies like best, of course, is spotting other baby animals! With the buoyant rhythms of Phyllis Root and David Walker’s cheerful illustrations, here is a guaranteed favorite for babies and toddlers, who will love shouting out the rhyming word sure to come on the next spread.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published March 10, 2009
17 people are currently reading
724 people want to read
About the author
Phyllis Root
107 books71 followers"Picture books are performances," says Phyllis Root, quoting some sage advice she once received. "They're performances that involve a child--something both of you do. And once I started thinking of them that way, I started getting much looser about making up words and playing around with rhythm."
Phyllis Root picked up an early affinity for colloquial language while growing up in Indiana and southern Illinois, "where people actually say things like, 'I got a hitch in my git-along'!" She decided to be a writer in the fifth grade, but it wasn't until she was thirty years old that she took a writing course with an influential teacher who gave her "the tools" she says she needed. "That's when I figured out that you could learn to be a writer," she says. What followed was a series of rollicking stories that take on a new life when read aloud, among them ONE DUCK STUCK, a one-of-a-kind counting book; KISS THE COW!, an affectionate salute to stubbornness; WHAT BABY WANTS, a tale of increasingly ridiculous efforts to quiet an infant that one reviewer compared to an episode of I LOVE LUCY, and LOOKING FOR A MOOSE, a buoyant tale with a final surprise discovery.
The author does "endless rewriting" before a book is finished, but often starts out by writing her stories in her head, a trick she learned as a time-pressed mother when her two daughters were very young. For example, RATTLETRAP CAR--a joyful celebration of perseverance--began with her playing around with sounds ("clinkety clankety, bing bang pop!") and calling up bits of old camp songs.
A master of rhythmic read-alouds, Phyllis Root exhibits a range many writers would envy. Her counting book TEN SLEEPY SHEEP is as serene and lulling as ONE DUCK STUCK is rambunctious. "Counting sheep isn't always easy," she notes. "Once, while we were farm-sitting, my daughter and I had to chase down two runaway lambs in the growing darkness, then count twenty-seven frisky lambs to make sure they were all safe for the night. Luckily, they were." OLIVER FINDS HIS WAY is a quiet, classic picture book about a defining moment in the life of a small child--getting lost and having the pluck to find the way home. On the other extreme, Phyllis Root takes on no less than the whole universe in BIG MOMMA MAKES THE WORLD, a powerful, original, down-home creation myth that received rave reviews and won the prestigious BOSTON GLOBE-HORN BOOK Award. Most recently, Phyllis Root penned LUCIA AND THE LIGHT, a timeless adventure about one brave girl's quest that was inspired by Nordic lore.
When she's not writing, Phyllis Root teaches at Vermont College's MFA in Writing for Children program. She lives with her two daughters and two cats in a 100-year-old house in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and loves to read (mostly mysteries with female protagonists) or spend time outdoors gardening, camping, sailing, or traveling. "One of the things I've learned about myself," she confides, "is that when I get really stuck and can't seem to get writing, it's because I've forgotten to take time out to play."
Phyllis Root picked up an early affinity for colloquial language while growing up in Indiana and southern Illinois, "where people actually say things like, 'I got a hitch in my git-along'!" She decided to be a writer in the fifth grade, but it wasn't until she was thirty years old that she took a writing course with an influential teacher who gave her "the tools" she says she needed. "That's when I figured out that you could learn to be a writer," she says. What followed was a series of rollicking stories that take on a new life when read aloud, among them ONE DUCK STUCK, a one-of-a-kind counting book; KISS THE COW!, an affectionate salute to stubbornness; WHAT BABY WANTS, a tale of increasingly ridiculous efforts to quiet an infant that one reviewer compared to an episode of I LOVE LUCY, and LOOKING FOR A MOOSE, a buoyant tale with a final surprise discovery.
The author does "endless rewriting" before a book is finished, but often starts out by writing her stories in her head, a trick she learned as a time-pressed mother when her two daughters were very young. For example, RATTLETRAP CAR--a joyful celebration of perseverance--began with her playing around with sounds ("clinkety clankety, bing bang pop!") and calling up bits of old camp songs.
A master of rhythmic read-alouds, Phyllis Root exhibits a range many writers would envy. Her counting book TEN SLEEPY SHEEP is as serene and lulling as ONE DUCK STUCK is rambunctious. "Counting sheep isn't always easy," she notes. "Once, while we were farm-sitting, my daughter and I had to chase down two runaway lambs in the growing darkness, then count twenty-seven frisky lambs to make sure they were all safe for the night. Luckily, they were." OLIVER FINDS HIS WAY is a quiet, classic picture book about a defining moment in the life of a small child--getting lost and having the pluck to find the way home. On the other extreme, Phyllis Root takes on no less than the whole universe in BIG MOMMA MAKES THE WORLD, a powerful, original, down-home creation myth that received rave reviews and won the prestigious BOSTON GLOBE-HORN BOOK Award. Most recently, Phyllis Root penned LUCIA AND THE LIGHT, a timeless adventure about one brave girl's quest that was inspired by Nordic lore.
When she's not writing, Phyllis Root teaches at Vermont College's MFA in Writing for Children program. She lives with her two daughters and two cats in a 100-year-old house in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and loves to read (mostly mysteries with female protagonists) or spend time outdoors gardening, camping, sailing, or traveling. "One of the things I've learned about myself," she confides, "is that when I get really stuck and can't seem to get writing, it's because I've forgotten to take time out to play."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews
April 10, 2012
Just darling! Here we find many baby animals exploring the world with their mamas. This would make a wonderful read-aloud, the words just trip off the tongue and the illustrations beg for interaction as each one gives a clue to the animal that you will find when you turn the page ;-) An especially good choice for mothers to read with their little ones.
April 16, 2017
Not much by way of content, and fairly predictable if you pay attention to the rhyme scheme. If I were a baby I would probably love it. A quick read, like I said, not much content in this one. If you love mother and infant animal drawings this book is right up your alley. The alliteration is fun, probably more so for little readers. Not really a "must-read" but give it a chance and you might enjoy it.
January 29, 2019
Cuteness overload!
May 13, 2022
A favorite of my toddlers at work!
February 3, 2025
Awesome! I knew I was in for something great when I found an author I loved from Ten Sleepy Sheep by Phyllis Root, possibly my favorite board book and illustrated by my other favorite board book Bears on Chairs and newly released Bears in Beds illustrated by David Walker. Seeing those two listed together, this book had to be great! We borrowed the book from the library and I've already reserved the board book to pick up at our local Barnes & Noble.
This story has it all that I like. One it's cute and attractive illustrations. But even more than that are the elements within. There are animals to learn and recognize on sight. There are sounds to say and act out with your children. There are rhymes! Oh goodness, thank you for fun transitional rhymes - something we're working on learning and I'm delighted about this book to help with it! I'm delighted with this book and it's going to be right up there with the others, I might have to have the picture book and the board book to read it all the time.
This story has it all that I like. One it's cute and attractive illustrations. But even more than that are the elements within. There are animals to learn and recognize on sight. There are sounds to say and act out with your children. There are rhymes! Oh goodness, thank you for fun transitional rhymes - something we're working on learning and I'm delighted about this book to help with it! I'm delighted with this book and it's going to be right up there with the others, I might have to have the picture book and the board book to read it all the time.
December 19, 2016
Read at Baby Lap Time on 4/5/12 and 4/6/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read at rec. center class visit on 3/20/13: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read at Toddler Lap Time on 4/11/13: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read at Toddler Lap Time on 4/12/13: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read at rec. center class visit on 3/20/13: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read at Toddler Lap Time on 4/11/13: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read at Toddler Lap Time on 4/12/13: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
March 23, 2010
So, so, so sweet! This book makes my uterus ache. And the illustrations are too precious for words.
Read
March 21, 2017Appreciated predictable rhyme. Although, I'm thinking author should have gone with my listener's prediction of "crocodile" rather than "child" for that last one...
January 11, 2018
Great for reading to 2-3 year old children and introducing them to the names of animals
June 20, 2025
Very cute, with a rollicking rhythm.
Used in Baby Storytime and Little Movers on 6/20/25.
Used in Baby Storytime and Little Movers on 6/20/25.
June 21, 2020
This has been one of my daughter’s favorite books since she was a small baby. She’s almost four now but still asks for it frequently. The book follows a familiar rhythm as it shows pairs of baby animals and their mothers in a pond environment. The baby animals each spot a new animal with both a visual clue and a rhyme clue on the given page. It’s fun for little ones to guess the next animal and this can be an adaptive activity for children whether they are ready to guess based on the rhyme only or need the picture clue. Each mother teaches her baby some way to move about. It can be fun for young children to try and imitate the movements of each animal (how would you flap? How would you wiggle? Etc). Each page also highlights a different color present in the illustrations (purple irises, brown muck, etc). for yet another learning activity. The illustrations are charming and absolutely adorable, definitely appealing to little children. Overall this is a great book to read with babies and young toddlers, I could see it working nicely in a young early childhood education setting. I give it as a new baby gift frequently as well!
February 9, 2017
2.0
Gender Diversity: All mother/son pairings
Ethnic Diversity: Not applicable
Language to Avoid: None, but many made-up words
Challenging Themes: None
This book’s simple, rhyming language makes it a cute board book read for babies or a hardcover for early readers on their own, but it wasn’t a good for for reading to a toddler.
The book describes the exercise of a sequence of baby animals, each endeavoring to learn their singular verb (fly, swim, crawl, etc). The plain repeated language and nonsense rhyming words remind me a lot of Chicka Chicka, Boom Boom, so if you enjoy reading that sort of thing this could also be up your alley – sans the clever alphabet play.
The simple meter broken across pages and a lack of a narrative or significant educational content saw this quickly fall into the “return these first” pile of library books. While there’s nothing wrong with it, neither of us seemed to be especially interested (beyond EV’s tacit “aww, cute!” reaction to babies of any species).
Gender Diversity: All mother/son pairings
Ethnic Diversity: Not applicable
Language to Avoid: None, but many made-up words
Challenging Themes: None
This book’s simple, rhyming language makes it a cute board book read for babies or a hardcover for early readers on their own, but it wasn’t a good for for reading to a toddler.
The book describes the exercise of a sequence of baby animals, each endeavoring to learn their singular verb (fly, swim, crawl, etc). The plain repeated language and nonsense rhyming words remind me a lot of Chicka Chicka, Boom Boom, so if you enjoy reading that sort of thing this could also be up your alley – sans the clever alphabet play.
The simple meter broken across pages and a lack of a narrative or significant educational content saw this quickly fall into the “return these first” pile of library books. While there’s nothing wrong with it, neither of us seemed to be especially interested (beyond EV’s tacit “aww, cute!” reaction to babies of any species).
September 2, 2025
A series of baby animals embark on their first flight / first steps / first swim in this sweet picture from author Phyllis Root and illustrator David Walker. Each one is helped by their mama, with each episode leading to the next, as animal sees animal, eventually culminating in a human mother and child...
With a rhyming text that begs to be read aloud, and bright, colorful illustrations that hold the gaze, Flip, Flap, Fly!: A Book for Babies Everywhere would make the perfect baby and/or toddler story time selection! The rhythm works well, and the transition between each animal, as one spots the other, makes for a fun series of narrative exclamation points for the storyteller. Picture books for the very young child can be tricky, but this one definitely gets it right! Recommended to those looking for fun, lighthearted read-alouds for babies and toddlers.
With a rhyming text that begs to be read aloud, and bright, colorful illustrations that hold the gaze, Flip, Flap, Fly!: A Book for Babies Everywhere would make the perfect baby and/or toddler story time selection! The rhythm works well, and the transition between each animal, as one spots the other, makes for a fun series of narrative exclamation points for the storyteller. Picture books for the very young child can be tricky, but this one definitely gets it right! Recommended to those looking for fun, lighthearted read-alouds for babies and toddlers.
June 26, 2017
This book is full of the joy of mamas spending time with their babies. Learning to appreciate and savor the little joys in life can make a big difference.
This book is different than most "Over in the meadow books, because in those books it is the mother choosing the activity and in this book it is the baby. It's good to let each decide what to do sometimes.
**Talking points - What are some things that your mom would choose to do with you? What are some things that you would choose to do with your mom? Are some of them the same and some of them different? We all like different things and yet we can all have fun together!
This book is different than most "Over in the meadow books, because in those books it is the mother choosing the activity and in this book it is the baby. It's good to let each decide what to do sometimes.
**Talking points - What are some things that your mom would choose to do with you? What are some things that you would choose to do with your mom? Are some of them the same and some of them different? We all like different things and yet we can all have fun together!
September 3, 2017
This is a really cute book! It has lovely pictures and rhymes. It also has hints as to who you will meet next in the story, via the rhymes as well as the pictures. This book would be a great choice to use for increasing a child's utterances. You can ask "who" questions while pointing to the pictures, as well as "what" questions if the child is at that level. Even if you just read it, this book is adorably wonderful!
November 6, 2019
Book Title: Flip, Flap, Fly!
Author/Illustrator: Phyllis Root/ David Walker
Reading Level: Pre-reader
Book Level: 1.0
Book Summary: Babies and their mothers explore the environment around them, in this bright and happy book.
Bookshelf Mentor Writing Traits: This book has a very distinct happy voice trait and sentence fluency of long and short sentences. A further activity I would do with students in the classroom is picking a verb and choosing words that portray the voice of that verb.
Author/Illustrator: Phyllis Root/ David Walker
Reading Level: Pre-reader
Book Level: 1.0
Book Summary: Babies and their mothers explore the environment around them, in this bright and happy book.
Bookshelf Mentor Writing Traits: This book has a very distinct happy voice trait and sentence fluency of long and short sentences. A further activity I would do with students in the classroom is picking a verb and choosing words that portray the voice of that verb.
Read
February 9, 2020In many ways perfect for rugrats. I love the pattern, and the subtle prediction lesson, and the cute illustrations. I can forgive the weak science (pretty sure pond fish don't teach their babies how to swim). But somehow it just didn't work perfectly for me. Maybe it's just that I tend to read & prefer 'all ages' stories with my inner child, and out of the habit of letting my inner infant come out to play.
July 13, 2021
We discovered this book from a library story time and we had to buy a copy because my infant daughter loved it so much.
Great cadence and story. The words are fun to read and the illustrations are cheerful. My daughter really loved all the babies and this one was great for mama/baby time.
I think it might have been nice if some of the animals got help from the dad (we sometimes read it that way).
But really lovely book!
Great cadence and story. The words are fun to read and the illustrations are cheerful. My daughter really loved all the babies and this one was great for mama/baby time.
I think it might have been nice if some of the animals got help from the dad (we sometimes read it that way).
But really lovely book!
March 20, 2019
This book worked very well in a storytime for two-year olds and their caregivers. There is enough of a hint on each page to help the kids guess what the next animal will be, and the sounds help as well. A few of the sounds didn't seem to fit as well as they might, but overall it was a really good book to share with young children.
March 29, 2021
Adorable book! It has wonderful and cute illustrations with a nice soft color palette. I liked how at the end of each drawing on the second page you could see a little bit of what the next animal would be. This is great for engaging the children with the story more and making them guess what animal they think might come next. The story flows well and I really enjoyed it.
August 18, 2017
Fun rhyming book about a baby bird and the other animals it encounters. The words are lyrical -- they cry out for music.
There's always a hint of the next animal in the illustration, if you look for it.
There's always a hint of the next animal in the illustration, if you look for it.
October 26, 2018
Very cute, rhyming book. The parents (and older toddlers) loved guessing the animal for the rhyme. Super sweet, great for baby time. Rhymes. Colors. Lots of animals. It's checking a lot of our early literacy boxes.
May 2, 2020
Possibly my favorite baby book! I adore the cadence of this book and have read it again and again to my 3 children over the last 6 years. I’ll never get sick of it and I often gift it at baby showers.
October 24, 2023
A sweet book for littles, they can guess what the next rhyming word is before you turn the page. Not too much text and cute illustrations.
Themes: birds, babies, stories that rhyme
Ages: toddler - preK
Pub year: 2009
Themes: birds, babies, stories that rhyme
Ages: toddler - preK
Pub year: 2009
July 18, 2024
Cute book that works well for younger ages. Older children have enjoyed it as well, especially if asked to guess what animal will be seen next, as there are clues in the illustrations as well as the rhyming text.
June 11, 2017
I LOVED this! Super cute for baby/toddler storytime. Can easily incorporate movement, as well as animal sounds. Would probably use for springtime, animals, or nature theme.
September 25, 2017
This adorable book about babies has a sweet rhyming cadence and beautiful illustrations. It's full of fun words, colors, and animals. Our toddler requests this one often.
January 3, 2018
This will be ADORABLE for a Spring storytime. It would make a cute magnet/felt board story too.
April 14, 2018
Predictive text; animals and babies; rhyme
April 19, 2018
Fun rhyming words for little ones.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews