Starred Review Animals and patterns are introduced with soft yet vibrant pencil-and-watercolor illustrations and three simple words: spot, spike, spiral. On the first spread, a scattering of black dots appears on a white background with the single word "Spot." Three critters poke their way onto the next, framing "Spike" with needle-like beetle legs, barbed caterpillar growths, and a pointy insect's horn. A shell and a curled tail and bug introduce "Spiral." The pattern of words repeats twice more, illustrated with individual animals, until the rainbow-hued lanternfly demonstrates "Spot and Spike," a furled Vietnamese rainbow millipede unites "Spot and Spiral," and a veiled chameleon sports "Spot and Spike." Toddlers will love the weird and beautiful animals, all identified in a final spread, and the repetition of the text, which will help them understand these patterns.

Insects and animals that feature prominent spots, spikes, and spirals are depicted in vibrant watercolor.This board book comes from the team behind Dot, Stripe, Squiggle (2018), and similarly, it's also all in the name. It opens with a series of three progressions of the words, "Spot / Spike / Spiral," each featured on its own two-page spread, matched with an insect or animal featuring one of those three descriptors. Tuttle's text is basic and simple, with only slight changes thanks to some ellipses, exclamation points, and arbitrary-feeling capitalization. Nerlove's incredibly rich and detailed watercolor illustrations drive all of the reader interest. Though the pages appear sparse and the illustrations are shown on a starkly contrasting, all-white background, they encourage readers to linger and look. There is so much to absorb and study: the depth of color variation in the blue poison dart frog's skin and the tiny fly capturing its attention, the gorgeous rainbow of color and pattern on the lanternfly. The last two pages show each animal or insect and its complete name—a nice touch and certainly necessary for curious young readers.Setting aside the repetitive text, this one is worth picking up for the rich, absorbing illustrations of lesser-known animals and insects. (Board book. 1-3)