To figure out who ate the ice cream, you have to turn your book sideways and look at the lineup of the clever characters in Who Done It? by Olivier Tallec. Cleverly hidden in a very sturdy board book, one of the thickest I have ever held, is a misfit. You have to solve who did what based on the pictures of the lineup. This book is missing numbers under the chins of the characters, but that would defeat the purpose of it being a kid-friendly book. I loved how you had to find the guilty party for spilling, but you also had to identify who had a sad day.

This crafty little book allows you to teach your child how to see who was guilty of both physical and mental anguish. The characters allow you to discuss why a character may be happy or sad, or how they may feel when they are the one who spills their milk. It is such a simple concept, but turned sideways and hidden within the concrete, solid walls of a book you can take places without fear of your child ruining it. This book could take a bite from a tiger and still stand up for another reading at your next three-year-old party. It is just that amazingly constructed.

In the Classroom:

For Early Learning and Development in the preschool years, Florida has devised their own set of state standards. One of the key elements they are focusing on is the ability of students “to recognize, then internally manage and regulate, the expression of emotions both positive and negative, with teacher support and multiple experiences over time” (Florida Early Learning Development). Olivier Tallec has given his audience the gift of expression in his illustrations in his newest book. There are a minimum of five characters to a page who have done something, and it is up to the reader to figure out “Who Done It?” This book is interactive in nature and gives teachers the perfect resource to use in their classroom for early child development. This is a must-have book for early child classrooms.

Who Done It? by Olivier Tallec (Chronicle Books | 9781452141985 | October 13, 2015)