French artist Hervé Tullet harnesses his love of dance, the passion of his illustrations, and the great big format of this book, and invites readers to a very special dance: their hand becoming the dancer and the book the dance floor.
A gentle glide to start things off, a few leaps then big bouncy jumps, growing in complexity and animation to a finale of colour, action and movement.
Lovers of Tullet's previous works or artwork need no introduction to the master. His 2010 book Press Here remained on The New York Times Best Seller list in the Children's Picture Books category for over four years.
But for those new to his creativity, you're in for a treat.
Tullet's bold primary colour usage, interactive thinking and gift to have readers participate in the story is to the fore in his latest offering.
A far larger size than his other books, Tap! Tap! Tap! allows children to actually fit, and move, their whole hands freely on the page. This allows little ones to explore all the ways their hands can move. This in turn builds dexterity, a critical foundational skill for our children. The only downside for our family - the hand outlines within the pages were right, not left. As a family of lefties, it took a while for us to build up the co-ordination and comfort, but that's not necessarily a bad thing! It does eventually get more abstract and of course, there's nothing to stop you from using your left from the start.
The subtle learning doesn't stop there, with Tullet's creativity meaning children also explore rhythm, motion and shapes, combined with creative thinking and imagination. His standard invitation at the end to go back to the beginning will be virtually irresistible.
Once again, Tullet proves himself to be a master entertainer and educator, with another delightfully interactive book that celebrates colour and movement.
Reviewed by Rebekah Lyell
Allen & Unwin