Cinnamon Bun, I Love You 1

Shining with the considerable gifts that the late Schwartz (13 Stories About Harris) brought to her observations of everyday life, this sweetly silly counting book brings a lovely new meaning to “let me count the ways.” For numbers one through nine, a large numeral and smaller drawings that quantify it occupy each verso page. On each recto is a simple couplet built around the number and the phrase “I love you,” accompanied by a gouache and ink rendering of a child-adult pair. For 5, as many utensils sit arrayed under the numeral, while “Forks and knives,/ I love you five,” accompanies a vignette of a brown-skinned adult and child picnicking on a blanket. (The child, with typical toddler spunk, is feeding the adult a bit of greenery on a fork.) Leading to a convivial ending that spotlights all 10 children, the snug scenes brim with the affection of utterly besotted grown-ups. Ages up to 8. Agent: Nancy Gallt, Gallt & Zacker. (Apr.)