Heads

by Matthew Van Fleet

From the #1 New York Times bestselling children’s book creator Matthew Van Fleet.

Eye-Popping Fun for Toddlers!

Eight ingenious pull tabs, seven pettable textures, and an astonishing fold-out finale deliver interactive surprises on every page as a cast of irresistible critters use their heads to demonstrate opposites, actions, and more!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Kids, Juvenile, Storytime

18 pages, Hardcover Novelty Book

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Matthew Van Fleet's innovative books have been introducing children to basic concepts for over twenty years. His unique formats invite toddlers to touch, press, pull, lift and even sniff as they explore colors, shapes, numbers, letters, opposites and more. His books include the #1 New York Times bestsellers TAILS and DOG as well as the New York Times bestsellers CAT, ALPHABET, and HEADS.

Reviews

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the sort of book that lasts into a second ownership.

Observes a second owner.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun with great illustrations, fun rhymes, and movable parts.

[Huda Fel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was about to cry over this book!!
The way it was designed...
Brilliant!

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sooo ... my daughter pulled off everyone's heads before we actually got a chance to read this, but it seems like a cute book! My only qualm is that some of the rhymes require you to pull the pop-up tabs, but that's not super obvious on the first read, so it took a couple of tries for us to get the cadence and rhymes down.

[Genevieve Speegle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this book today and I had three toddlers fighting over it. The moving parts and textural add-ins throughout make reading it so much fun.

We must have read it ten times in one sitting. The most popular sections were the platypus eggs and the sneezing elephant.

[Freddie D · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is AWESOME. Probably the best touch-and-feel book that we have come across. There is so much to play with and giggle at; the pages are bursting with activity and even the cover is interactive!

[Victoria Hanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great sturdy moving parts.

[Amelia Alejandra Bueno Batista · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worn off from so much use. This book is amazing

[Mery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Risas in Spanish, Amelia loves these stories!

[Pinky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different heads of different animals and the working parts that make a head useful.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great pop-up book on steroids
Includes stickers
Cute story

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very elaborate touch-and feel features

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Van Fleet and his mix of clever tabs with very humorous touches. Perfect for small hands, his books withstand a lot of play from the smallest children. This book follows his Tails book. Here the rollicking rhyme takes readers from one type of head to another. It features heads to touch, like the woolly and hairy heads. It also takes a funny look at necks, ears, mouths, tongues, noses and eyes. A great introduction to the various body parts, what sets this book apart are the pull tabs that bring the illustrations to life. The terrific part is that even the most jaded adults will be surprised at the artistry and humor here.

Van Fleet excels at writing words that flow and dance in a jaunty jig. His text can be read aloud effortlessly. His art is cartoony, silly and even the parts that don’t move have small humorous touches to watch for.

Ideal for a birthday or holiday present for any toddler, this book is a treat. The only problem is figuring out which child gets to pull the next pull tab! Appropriate for ages 1-3.

[Mylinh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heads is a fun interactive book that explores different types of animals. Van Fleet has found new ways to create the standard pull tab book. Because of it's fragile nature, this would be a great book for parents and younger children (1-4) to share together. As children get older (K-2), it will be an exciting book to re-read and treasure on their own.

From Publisher's weekly:
* This touch-and-feel companion to Van Fleet's bestselling Tails (2003) is interactive even before page one, with a pull-tab cover in which animals move letters into place to spell out the title. The book is stuffed with myriad textures, detailed watercolor illustrations, and playful rhymes ("Bite mouth,/ Shout mouth,/ Slobber mouth,/ Slurp!/ Nibble mouth,/ Chew mouth,/ Rude mouths... BURP!"); a hippo's mouth opens wide during said burp--just one of a couple of kid-pleasing gross-out moments. All the animals, from axolotl to tamandua, are labeled on the final spread, after a fold-out surprise ending. It's a buoyant celebration of the animal kingdom's diversity. - Publishers Weekly, June 28, 2010, *STAR

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love Matthew Van Fleet's books and this one was no exception! As the title suggests, this one details the varied heads and parts thereof (ears, eyes, noses, tongues, etc.) of animals. I really enjoyed the pull tab actions in this one - every page has one! As per the usual, van Fleet includes not just well known animals, but more obscure ones as well thus educating us parents as well!

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis: "From the #1 New York Times bestselling creator Matt Van Fleet comes a companion to the million plus copy bestseller, Tails that will dazzle and delight! Heads – wooly, bump and hairy – never has such a collection of animal heads been so much fun!"

My Review: This book isn't just heads, its noses and mouths and ears too! So much fun to read and look at the animals. I do love how it can grow up with Munchkin, start off just reading the story and looking at the pictures, then start to do the activities (pulling the pictures) and then discovering the names of the animals. Heads is a fun book for all the little ones.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Van Fleet's books! Such fun for toddlers and preschoolers with the touch-and-feel, various "action tabs," and simple teaching of basic concepts (in this case, parts of the head and seeing differences among animals). These are perfect for lap-reads, though not great as library books as they get rather ripped up. I think the animals are adorable--such happy guys! The ending for this one was very fun, and I liked that animal names were included for the curious minds. I definitely would like to own more Van Fleet in my personal children's library.

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Van Fleet follows up his fantastic book, Tails, with this look at heads. Diverse animal features like beaks, horns, and tongues will amuse and inform primary readers. Numerous pull tabs and three dimensional components will engage children through multiple re-reads. Helpful for teaching adjectives to older kids, too.

[Kerry Ann]

[Children's book. Great for ages 1yr+.]

My little one love, Love, LOVES this book. Tactical elements for little fingers to explore, but much more fun/satisfying for little readers the direct interaction. They control elements of the book via pull tab.

Just be ready to repair or replace as it will get lots of use.

[Joni]

This was a book I recommended to many grandparents for Christmas. It is also a book I keep on hand as a baby shower gift. I love the durability of the pull out tabs and the illustrations are beautiful.

[Sandybear76]

The kindergarten teacher was looking at this book for her son and she stood there and giggled the whole way through the book. I guess the library needs this one for kindergarten and preschool classes.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fun for me to read by myself as a grownup! The dynamic aspects of the book are really well chosen- no skimping on the fun textures or motions! Good rhymes work well with the moving parts.

[Magila · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

This isn't exactly a pop-up, the various head-related body parts move around and do things. This is one of my son's absolute favorites, although the elephant ears came apart. For that reason, it didn't get a perfect mark, but I highly recommend this for your mini-ones.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, fun, fun! Love it!!

[Maggi Rohde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate the wide variety of animals. I wish they had been labeled on the way through the book, though, rather than waiting until the last picture. Adjectives!

[Holly Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book. Loved all of the animals and the interactive fun of the book. Great colors, textures going to get Tails as well.

[Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give it the rare but well-deserved 5 stars!! Van Fleet does it again with Heads!! A wonderful and wonderfully sturdy action book about animals and their head-parts.

[Danie P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute "moveable" parts book all about heads.

[Carla Ehrenreich · Rating 2 out of 5]

way too fragile for a toddler - kids loved it though

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Squee! Not about old hippies, but a wonderful pull-the-tab animal book that celebrates all types of exotic critters. Fun for librarians on break time.