“Ah! Initially there was some fear that this would turn out to be yet another coffee table board book where the parents ooo and coo over the art and the babies would rather be chewing on the coffee table itself than read it. What Lundie does that stands out is engage in this delightful, chewy repetition that goes on with a lot of the people, places and things being featured. The artist, 'goes splat, splat, splat with my paint.' Jelly is, 'Yum, yum, so good in my tum.' And, yes, the art is magnificent. Not so high contrast that you’d use it with a very young child, but perfect for those squirmy one-year-olds at bedtime. Love it!”—Elizabeth Bird

“Ten homes for 10 animals—just right to intrigue little naturalists. Extra-thick, sturdy board pages are easy to turn. The text on each page uses a predictable format. The name of each home is printed in a large font, followed in smaller type by a simple declaration of who lives there, with the name of the animal slightly enlarged: “A dam is for beavers!” The text accompanying the final illustration of “a house…for people” adds a follow-up question—“Where do you live?”—that opens the door to more personal reflection. Animals included seem to have been chosen arbitrarily; there is no clear connection among the animals except that they all have homes. Some, such as the hermit crab’s shell, are quite specific while others, like the mole’s tunnel, are rather vague. Stylized drawings of each animal in its dwelling offer a bit more information for children. Many readers will linger to study the richly textured collage illustrations executed using newspapers, maps, graph and other papers in muted tones. A sound or action word commonly associated with the animal shown is included in each picture: “Neigh!” is near two horses in a stable; “Twitch!” is the rabbit’s action; and “Bubble!” and “Gulp!” float near two of the fish swimming in a coral reef. The beehive, alas, is incorrectly depicted as a paper-wasps’ nest.  This simple yet sophisticated book should find a home on the board-book shelf. (Board book. 2-5) ”

“Lundie has a style that reminds me not a little of the work of Carin Berger, what with her use of brightly colored cut paper. The book is as much a pleasure to look at as is it is to use with a kid learning their colors. And I don’t usually do this, but I think you have to take a look at how she makes shoes in this book. I want ‘em. Should a book be included here for including cute shoes? I sure as heck wouldn’t rule it out . . . ”—Elizabeth Bird

“Briefly meet nine different insect species (and one misplaced snail). Some big bugs are hiding inside this neatly packaged board book with diminutive trim! The refined insect collages fall into that optimal space between scientifically accurate yet stylized enough to be nonthreatening. Colors weave between luminous translucent wings, dazzlingly bright caterpillar and bee stripes, and earthy-colored bug bodies, all backed by minimal but evocative backgrounds, as with a fly hovering over silhouettes of stinky socks. Accompanying text identifying and providing a brief fact about the bug is succinctly accurate, but the choice of bolded word within the factoid feels arbitrary. In “a caterpillar munches leaves and makes itself a cocoon,” isn’t cocoon as relevant as leaves? Onomatopoeic words “flutter” or “crawl” unobtrusively about the outlines of the critters. A companion book, Nature, utilizes a daintier style of collage, creating delicate, intricately cut habitats. Unlike the laser-focused, zoomed-in Bugs, Nature takes a long view indeed, showcasing “rivers,” “oceans,” and the “universe” itself. This scope can feel grandiose, and the more-conceptual pages, like “seasons” or “weather,” could have used books of their own, although ending with “you” as an integral part of nature does ground it somewhat. Human characters, of whom the majority present as light-skinned, are the weakest part of Lundie’s collage work. A solid board-book introduction to insects. (Board book. 1-3) ”