By the VeloraCo Early Years Team · Early Years Desk · Updated October 11, 2026

Peel the Banana. 7 First Words You Can Practice This Week — One Flap Each.

Ten one-word board books in a box, every page with something to lift, slide or pull. Here are the seven pages parents open first, the word to say on each one, and the one trick that makes a toddler ask for the page again — which is where the practice comes from.

First, the trick that makes all seven work

Say the word on its own. "Banana." Point at it. Say it again, slower, and let them watch your mouth. Then let them open the flap — the reveal is the reward for the word, so it comes after. And wait longer than feels natural: four or five seconds of quiet is where a reply has room to happen. You will feel silly saying one word eight times in a row. Every parent does. That is the method, not you doing it wrong.

1Banana — the Fruit book

The page every video starts on. The peel is a flap hinged at the top; a toddler can work it themselves from about 18 months, and before that you do it while they grab. Food words are the ones a toddler has the most reasons to use, so this is the word that tends to come back first. Try this: peel it, say it, peel it again. Then hand them a real one.

2Watermelon — the Fruit book

A long word, said slowly. Three claps — wa-ter-melon — while they watch your mouth. The slider runs in a track routed into the board, so it cannot come out, and the red inside is the surprise. Try this: say it once, slide it open, say it again, slide it shut.

3Lion — the Animal book

Sounds come before words. A roar is easier than a word, and the lion page gives you a sound to copy before you ever ask for the name. Try this: roar, then "lion," same order every time. Let them roar back before you move on.

4Zebra — the Animal book

This is the page they ask for fifteen times. The zebra is a board piece that pulls out of a slot and pushes back in, and the drama — the lion is coming! — is the hook. Try this: say "zebra," pull it out, push it back, and wait. The wait is the point. If they look at you and wait too, that is the back-and-forth a conversation is made of.

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5White — the Color book

The flap page that teaches the pause. Ask the question, hold the flap closed, and count to four in your head before you lift it. Speech therapists describe that moment as anticipation — the toddler wants the reveal, and wanting is where a word gets a chance. Under the snowdrift is a white seal. Try this: ask, wait, lift. Then let them lift it while you say "white."

6Hen — the Farm book

The farm is where most toddlers already have noises. Use them. Noise first, then the name, same order every time — cluck, then "hen"; moo, then "cow." The Farm book's pages are the ones a one-year-old can turn alone, which matters more than it sounds. Try this: let them do the noise, you do the word.

7Car — the Vehicle book

If their best noise is "vroom," the words that come easiest are the ones with a sound attached. Car, truck, the one with the siren. Try this: beep, then "car." Then point at a real one through the window and say it again — the book word and the window word are the same word, and that is the whole idea.

Seven pages, seven words, one trick: say it, wait, open it. Five minutes a sitting. Twice a day beats once for twenty.

What's in the box

• Ten booksAnimal · Ocean · Number · Color · Job · Compare · Vehicle · Shape · Farm · Fruit
• Every spreadone big word beside the one picture it names, one short read-aloud line, one thing to do
• Three revealslift-the-flap, push-and-pull sliders, pull-out tabs — die-cut board, not paper
• Pagesthick laminated board, rounded corners front and back
• Boxrigid, lidded; the ten books store back into it

Animal Ocean Number Color Job Compare Vehicle Shape Farm Fruit

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Straight talk: Little Lifters is a children's book set, not a medical, diagnostic or therapeutic product. Nothing on this page is a promise about when or whether a child will say a word. Ages 1 and up, with a grown-up. Reviews reflect individual experiences.