Seeing

In these bright introductions for emergent readers, close-up photos of delighted looking children using their senses in easy to understand ways (“Eli smells his stinky feet. Ew! He knows he needs a bath.”) accompany short, explanatory notes in large type. Though the amount of detail is skimpy (smell is said to be triggered by “scent bits,” and the fifth taste, umami, is not mentioned in Tasting), each volume does close with a simplified but recognizable graphic depiction of the relevant sense organ featuring (nontechnical) labels. Each also ends with a leading question—a ploy that Rustad flubs in Smelling with a confusing “What things do you smell? What do they tell you?” but elsewhere are sure to spark animated discussions. An excellent alternative or replacement for Katie Dicker’s “Sparklers: My Senses” series (Black Rabbit, 2010).