Starred Review ALA Booklist

Starred Review Amidst the numerous counting books available, van Hout offers a standout with great child (and adult) appeal. While the book only goes from 1 to 10 (and then, on the closing end pages, back again), she makes the experience of counting both joyful and imitative through the use of animal personalities and anatomies. Each number, paired with an animal body part or attribute such as spots or stripes, receives its own double-page spread, with the number on one side and an animal represented on the other, sometimes spilling across the gutter. There are 7 bright stripes on a fish, 5 clever monkey fingers, and 1 big bear belly. The animals pictured will be the favorites of many children, and each is drawn in a simple, childlike style. Without anything going on in the background, each dominates its spread, standing out against the colored pages. Bold eyes engage the reader, and a final spread takes this a step beyond most counting books: practical advice for parents or caregivers explains the usefulness of counting books for early readers and includes several fun and educational activities e of which, of course, is counting with this book again and again.

Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Count different number sets on boldly drawn and vibrantly colored animals.Open this Dutch import and marvel at the rich, saturated background colors and the grinning, oversized animals. Naively portrayed creatures made from splotches and scribbles of paint, chalk, and pastels invite readers to count their body parts or patterned designs, such as the mottled black "7 stripes" decorating a green-and-teal fish. All the deeply textured animals have a childlike glee about them, especially due to the high-contrast smudges of primary color and the way that they invitingly catch readers' eyes with their own wide eyes. The veteran illustrator guides toddlers' fingers to the countable parts by rendering them overlarge ("1" rotund red "belly" on a friendly bear), by contrasting them against the background (a bug's "6 legs," starkly white against midnight black), or by adding highlights (green dots on a monkey's fingers, which beg to be touched as they're counted). Don't skip the backmatter on this one, as the clear and accessible instructions, ideas, and vocabulary offer caregivers easy ways to engage children in their own counting adventures within the book and beyond. The book's neat, square trim size and padded cover are ideal for sharing with lap readers.Simplicity plus spirited art equals a counting book that you can count on. (Picture book. 1-4)

Horn Book

Bold, colorful paintings invite the youngest children to count from one belly on a bear up to ten whiskers on a kitten. The eye-catching color, sturdy construction, and friendly content make this Dutch import a solid choice for toddlers. A final spread includes activities for caregivers to further develop a child's early literacy and numeracy.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Count different number sets on boldly drawn and vibrantly colored animals.Open this Dutch import and marvel at the rich, saturated background colors and the grinning, oversized animals. Naively portrayed creatures made from splotches and scribbles of paint, chalk, and pastels invite readers to count their body parts or patterned designs, such as the mottled black "7 stripes" decorating a green-and-teal fish. All the deeply textured animals have a childlike glee about them, especially due to the high-contrast smudges of primary color and the way that they invitingly catch readers' eyes with their own wide eyes. The veteran illustrator guides toddlers' fingers to the countable parts by rendering them overlarge ("1" rotund red "belly" on a friendly bear), by contrasting them against the background (a bug's "6 legs," starkly white against midnight black), or by adding highlights (green dots on a monkey's fingers, which beg to be touched as they're counted). Don't skip the backmatter on this one, as the clear and accessible instructions, ideas, and vocabulary offer caregivers easy ways to engage children in their own counting adventures within the book and beyond. The book's neat, square trim size and padded cover are ideal for sharing with lap readers.Simplicity plus spirited art equals a counting book that you can count on. (Picture book. 1-4)