Bear and Mouse enjoy breakfast in a forest clearing while, all around them, they find things to count: "One sun floating high. / One giant dragonfly . . . " The list goes on, interspersed with the repeated refrain, "Numbers, numbers everywhere. / Can you count along with bear?" Young children will want to try, and since the number of countable objects rises slowly, many will succeed. Throughout the book, friendly, lightly anthropomorphized animals lark about together in trees, meadow, and pond. Each four-page section features a number from one to five, depicted in two double-page spreads. The first presents a broad scene that includes groups of creatures and objects representing the number, while the next isolates each group against a white background. Well designed for its purpose, this counting book offers a lively, rhyming text along with appealing acrylic paintings. A cheerful addition to Wilson's popular Bear series of picture books.

PreS-K Following on the heels of Bear Sees Colors (S. &; S., 2014), this concept book introduces the numbers from one to five. As Bear and Mouse's day unfolds, the friends have various encounters that allow Bear to count. A pattern of set-up and reveal is used throughout the book. "Bear hears funny sounds coming/from an aspen tree./ It is Raven, Owl, and Wren,/and the bear counts&30; [next page] "three!" Wilson's easy-to-read rhyming text is enhanced by Chapman's acrylic paint illustrations which feature bright colors, apt expressions, and perfect detail. The set-up page is a full spread with many grouped items of the number to be revealedgreat for close inspection. The reveal page contains four of those items (with text) and plenty of white space between to make it easy to spot and count the items. VERDICT An enjoyable choice for group or individual use; purchase where Wilson's "Bear" titles are popular or additional counting books are needed. Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH