Mix it Up! by Hervé Tullet

Peeking in on a Super Science program at CLP – Hill District a curious observer might exclaim “What is that Librarian doing to that poor book!” French author and illustrator Hervé Tullet’s Mix it Up! is not your typical picture book about colors. You may see me throwing this book on the ground, jumping up and down on top of it, and cheering on our impromptu dance party as the children and I pass the book wiggling and shaking all around. It’s not our fault though, the book told us to do it! Tullet’s playful text is a great introduction to the concept of mixing colors for young and often wiggly readers. Learning about chemical reactions and colors during our Super Science program this month we used this text before conducting cool color experiments, learning science vocabulary and using scientific tools. Sure to inspire masterpieces by budding artists, Mix it Up! also introduced the scientific method to program participants. Our young scientists learned words like hypothesis, sharing their educated guesses as to what artistic results Tullet imagined on the next page. This is not a sit down storytime kind of book, as Tullet immediately involves you in his interactive adventures on and off the page.

Mix it Up!

Get ready to wiggle, shake, flap and smoosh (yes smoosh!) the pages together with your little ones. Try Tullet’s other works such as Help! We Need a Title!, Press Here or The Book with the Hole for more ways to incorporate play into your family storytime!