A toddler in Seattle learns the word ferry before they learn the word taxi. This board book is built around that fact: 100 first words drawn from the world a Pacific Northwest child actually sees, each one a bright photograph paired with the word that names it.

Orca, seaplane, mountain, sea star, kayak, blackberries, fern, rain, waterfall, space needle, MAX train, garbage truck. The pages are grouped so a child moves through a busy city, then out into wilderness, then home, which gives the naming a shape rather than making it a list.

Photographs rather than illustrations is the deliberate choice here. Pre readers build vocabulary fastest when the picture matches the thing they saw yesterday, and a real photo of a ferry is a real ferry.

Thick board pages, a small square trim for small hands, and enough regional specificity to make it the obvious gift for a new baby in the Northwest, or for the grandchild who lives across the country and needs to know where their family is from.