cover image I Can Count: My First Counting Book

I Can Count: My First Counting Book

Keith Faulkner. Little Simon, $7.95 (20pp) ISBN 978-0-671-88027-9

Vibrant artwork seems to leap from the pages of this distinctively sized counting book, which measures approximately 6 by 12. A color-coded thumb index allows the reader to choose from spreads exploring the numbers one through 10. On each, a large numeral (printed in the same color as the index tab) occupies an upper corner of the left page; on the facing page, smaller black type spells out the number and identifies the subject matter of the illustration (e.g., ``one teddy''). Dynamic, stencil-like compositions dance against the bright white ground: a school of five zippily patterned fish swim across one spread, two kites with energetically swirling tails float on another. A solid choice. Ages 1-3. (Mar.)