Let's Play! - (Healthy Milestones) by Angela C Mattke & Rachel Hurd-Wood (Board Book)

Book Synopsis

An interactive celebration of toddlers' physical and emotional growth, featuring playful sliders, lift-the-flaps, and hands-on mechanisms. Created in partnership with Mayo Clinic pediatric experts.

Let's Play! is a joyful exploration of the movement, coordination, and play milestones toddlers experience between 24 months to 2 1/2 years. Co-created with Mayo Clinic pediatrician Dr. Angela Mattke, this interactive board book invites children and their grownups to discover the fun and challenges of play--whether climbing, sliding, balancing, or making new friends. Through colorful scenes and relatable moments like building castles, racing down slides, and trying again after a tumble, Let's Play! encourages physical activity, emotional expression, and perseverance. With simple phrases and familiar play routines, Let's Play helps kids reach key developmental milestones, while celebrating the joy of movement and social connection.

Milestones featured in the book include:

• Climbing and navigating play structures
• Practicing balance and coordination
• Engaging in imaginative play
• Taking turns and sharing space with other children
• Coping with frustration
• Building resilience through repeated effort
• Making friends and playing cooperatively
• Expressing emotions and celebrating achievements
• Walking and jumping
• Counting steps and actions

Expert insights gently guide parents while celebrating each child's unique pace of growth.

Backed by trusted Mayo Clinic expertise, the Healthy Milestones series combines playful sliders, lift-the-flaps, and touch-and-feel textures to support early learning and connection. These interactive board books turn everyday moments into opportunities for exploration, language, movement, and bonding between little ones and their grownups.

Mayo Clinic Press Kids creates empowering health and wellness content in partnership with pediatric experts. Proceeds from the sale of every book go to benefit important medical research and education and Mayo Clinic.

About the Author

Dr. Angela C. Mattke is a pediatrician at Mayo Clinic Children's in Rochester, Minnesota. She is the medical editor of Mayo Clinic Guide to Raising a Healthy Child, and she consulted on ABCs of Taking Care of Me and I'm a Doctor from Mayo Clinic Press Kids. She is also a pediatric expert contributor to MayoClinic.org. Passionate about connecting with families, she has hosted several Mayo Clinic Children's podcasts and actively shares pediatric insights across Mayo Clinic's social media platforms.

Rachel Hurd-Wood is a writer and actress with twenty years of experience in film and TV. Her credits include Peter Pan and she's worked successfully as a screenwriter. She has worked on script development and creative consulting for Goldfinch Studios and has had prose and poetry published in The London Magazine. Often surrounded by young children, she is perfectly placed to know what appeals to them. Her flair for narrative and excellent instinct for what captures children's imagination brings a fresh voice to her writing. She is based in Peterborough in the UK.

Esme Lee is a Brighton-based illustrator who began her creative journey as a print designer after graduating from the University of Brighton. Her work now focuses on children's book illustration, where she brings stories to life with bold colors, playful compositions, and a strong graphic sensibility. Esme's illustrations are known for their narrative charm and visual clarity, often blending whimsy with emotional depth. She draws inspiration from everyday moments, folklore, and the natural world--especially when accompanied by her beloved pet duck, who has a particular fondness for cucumber.