• Book-O-Beards, Book-O-Hats, Book-O-Masks, Book-O-Teeth
• written by Donald Lemke
• illustrated by Bob Lentz
• published by Capstone Young Readers (2015)
• Roar Score: 4/5

We’re mostly beyond board books in our house. In fact, we recently brought almost our entire collection (with the exception of some sentimental titles) to the local Friends of the Library donation dropoff.

However, when board books are as much fun as these, it’s kind of hard not to find room on the bookshelf for them.

Behold, a series of fun “wearable books” that kids will inevitably go nuts for: Book-O-Beards, Book-O-Hats, Book-O-Masks, and Book-O-Teeth. Inspired by those ubiquitous lifesize cutouts where kids pose as animals or astronauts, these books bring that giggle-inducing fun home.

Indeed, according to author Donald Lemke: “What parent doesn’t love seeing their baby’s face on the body of a giraffe?” Not this parent, that’s for sure.

Each book is a sturdy 8″ x 8″ and features bright, colorful, and amazingly fun illustrations. Since these are board books, there are only six beards/hats/masks/teeth in each, but kids will have a blast pretending to be a pirate, zombie, ninja, viking, and other hilarious characters.

Each character is also accompanied by a cute, often funny, rhyming couplet that is sure to up the giggle factor. For example, the vampire has…

These pointy teeth
come out in the night.
But when the day breaks–
“Ack, sunlight!”

Since the books are meant to be “worn,” they are appropriately shaped and have spots for a little nose, eyes, or head. My son loves these books.

My one complaint isn’t exactly a small one, though. I get why the Book-O-Beards includes all male characters, but the other three books are also entirely male. Granted, many of the characters are appropriate for both sexes (especially in the Book-O-Hats), but a few female characters would’ve been nice. It wouldn’t have been too difficult to include a cowgirl or maybe a female superhero or scuba diver.

Still, these books are a ton of fun, and I really hope they’re planning to do another set that includes some female characters.

Great for both bedtime and playtime, we definitely recommend these books for boys and girls who don’t mind a little crossplay.

(Capstone provided me with review copies of these books. All opinions remain my own.)