See Pip Flap and See Zip Zap by David Milgrim

Jenna Friebel lives in Chicago (West Loop, best loop!) and works as a Materials Services Librarian at the Oak Park Public Library. She served on the 2016 Geisel Award Committee, 2018 Printz Award Committee, and will be going on to the 2020 Newbery Award Committee. When not hidden beneath piles and piles of books, you can find Jenna hanging out with her foster kittens or teaching yoga. Also look for her on twitter @jenna_friebel.

David Milgrim is no stranger to the Geisel award. Go, Otto, Go! was a 2017 Geisel Award Honor book. Now, he’s back with another of Otto’s adventures in See Pip Flap, plus the start to a new series, The Adventures of Zip, with See Zip Zap.

In See Pip Flap, Pip (the mouse) sees a bird in the sky and wants to fly, too, but no amount of arm flapping is working! Can Otto (the robot) help get Pip in the sky? With See Zip Zap, Milgrim moves from robots to aliens. Zip is showing off magic skills, but baby Bip isn’t impressed. When things get out of control, it’s up to baby Bip to save the day!

Stylistically, both books are very similar, beginning with the covers.

Cover of See Zip Zap

Cover of See Pip Flap

Throughout the books, both use a lot of white space on each page; large, clear text (although it does use the double stacked “a”); and simple, vibrantly colored illustrations all outlined in black. Text is short with a lot of repetition and rhyming. And, both stories are a lot of fun! Clearly, Milgrim knows what he’s doing. These are both high quality early readers, but under close scrutiny, will they live up to Geisel standards? I think they are both solid contenders.

Personally, I think See Zip Zap has a slight edge over See Pip Flap. Zip and Bip are both very expressive, and the high stakes dinosaur chase will delight young readers.

Zip runs while carrying Bip from a one-horned green dino. Text reads See Zip go. Go, Zip, go!

 See Pip Flap isn’t quite so exhilarating although it is still fun and funny. My question is, will kids understand “Ho hum”? Ultimately, they’ll understand the concept based on the images, but I wonder if this little phrase that might be unknown will throw them off a little.

Image of Mouse holding a remote control for a toy drone stading with Robot. Text reads Ho hum.

While I still think both books are great choices, I do have one major issue with both: the see-through pages! A thicker paper would make so much of a difference. The effect of white space is lessened when readers can see through it to other pages. These books are worthy of better paper and printing. Maybe with more Geisel recognition, the publisher will invest more into the physical quality. I know I’ll have my fingers crossed for a shiny sticker for Milgrim come January!