123 versus ABC

K-Gr 3—A blue Number 1 declares this book is about numbers, while an orange Letter A on the opposite page announces it's about letters. An argument ensues as more and more creatures appear on the pages, each one's name beginning with a sequential letter, while the number of individuals, what they are eating, traveling in, or carrying, can be counted or given sequential letter names as well. For example, in one spread, there are 3 cars, 4 dinosaurs have 5 eggs, and 6 toads (er, frogs) provide 7 hungry geese with 8 hot dogs and 9 ice-cream cones. The spreads become more and more crowded as greater numbers of digitally rendered animals engage with increasing numbers of objects. Fortunately, the backgrounds are white; all of the numbers are printed in blue, while the alphabetical letters are in orange, so readers can keep track of what is going on. Finally, all 26 numbers appear across the top half of a spread while the letters appear on the bottom, each with some spot illustrations, and the two antagonists agree, "Of course. This is a book about Numbers… and Letters!" While not for children just learning numbers or the alphabet, this offering will provide a fun way for those a bit older to review both. Pair it with Amy Krouse Rosenthal's Wumbers (Chronicle, 2012).—Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT