An owl dozes on a white page with its eyes shut. On the facing page the same owl is wide awake on a black sky full of stars. That is the whole idea of this board book, and for a newborn it is a big one: the same thing, seen by day and then by night. A red car runs along a winding road past red roofed houses, then the road carries on under a crescent moon. A row of houses stands solid in daylight, then shows as white outlines against the dark.

Everything is drawn in black, white and red, the three colors a newborn can pick out first, in flat, bold shapes with nothing fussy to blur the edges. Prop it open at tummy time and a baby has something to lock onto. Read it at bedtime and the pages themselves say that the day is over and the quiet part has begun. Agnese Baruzzi drew it, and the series follows a Montessori approach, which is why every page holds one clear idea and no clutter.

It is the companion to Opposites from the same Baby’s First Library series, and the two together make a first shelf for a baby shower, a new arrival, or a grandparent’s house.

Opposites: Baby’s First Library Baby’s Black and White Contrast Book Baby’s Tummy Time Book Box Set