The first book was titled Feeling Happy, and was intended for ages 0-3:
It featured a rotating "feelings" wheel (which was scalloped, making it easier for little hands to rotate) that the child was expected to use to select the face that corresponded to the feeling experienced by the character on a particular page. While a good concept, it was difficult to differentiate between some of the feelings (particularly grumpy and angry). However, they seemed to anticipate this, and compensated by colour co-ordinating the faces with the predominant colour on the corresponding page. (To see what I mean, go to the book link above and click the View More Images link; the second one - sad - is a good example.)
The munchkin really enjoyed this book, and it actually made it to "take it to bed" status within a week (a rare feat for a non-commercialized book). My wife and I appreciated the parental tips at the back, which offered some good suggestions for helping a child discuss and come to understand their emotions.
The second book was titled The Great Cake, and was intended for ages 3-5:
Less interactive and more tactile, this book featured indented numbers for finger-tracing as well as indented dots for counting. Since the munchkin is 2 1/2 (and no matter how brilliant we may think she is, she is still 2 1/2), it was a bit beyond her. There was more of a story to this book than the first one, as the characters are all contributing ingredients to bake a cake (conveniently, in discretely numbered amounts), and it spawned a lot of discussion about things we put in cakes, which, while not the intention of the book, was still a good learning experience for her.
The munchkin enjoyed this book, although not as much as Feeling Happy. She didn't really grasp the finger-tracing concept, although she did recognize the numbers on the pages. For her, it was more about the story than the numbers, which was fine with us. The back of the book had more parental tips, this time for incorporating numbers and counting into everyday life for kids.
Overall, I was quite pleased with the two books. I think that in time the munchkin will appreciate The Great Cake more than she does now, but in the meantime it is a good story for her, even if it comes behind Feeling Happy in her favourites list.
