One North Star: A Counting Book

PreS-Gr 1—Turn the pages to play a counting game and find the flora and fauna in the Minnesota environs, namely, the lakes, bluffs woods, prairies, marshes, and bogs. The first one in this North Star state is easy to play, because it begins with one moose browsing "by a cobble beach." By the 10th spread, though nine practices preceded it, the challenge deepens to try to match 10 totally new plants and animals to the hints in the text. Young readers may not immediately identify goldenrods, milkweed pods, or soldier beetles, but Root's succinct descriptions work together with Prange and Bowen's black woodcut prints with watercolors, and all the clues are needed. The narrative leads to the poignant question, "Who else lives there?" There in the beautiful landscape are a parent and two children, representing the human inhabitants. All 55 plants and animals heretofore introduced are briefly described and pictured in the concluding spreads. Every page has a North Star reference.