Ones and Twos

Author-illustrator Marthe Jocelyn teams up with her art-student daughter for this concept book that also tells a story. A rhyming text describes two young friends who meet up at the park, share a snack, walk, and talk. Before leaving, they offer a hair ribbon to the mother robin who has appeared on nearly every page, and in return, the girls go home with the gift of a small feather. Nell Jocelyn's cut-paper collages employ a wide range of colorfully patterned and textured paper that will have young viewers poring over the busy details and reaching out to touch the pages. Following a predictable pattern ("One bird, two eggs, / One girl, two legs"), the text counts single items and pairs, each easily found in the art. A border along the bottom of each spread extends the idea of groups of ones and twos: lined up in pairs and alone are objects related to each page (e.g., the border beneath a close-up of the girls' feet shows items you'd find on the ground—soda cans, a key, popsicle sticks, a pacifier). The book winds down gently, with a picture of the friends having a sleepover, snuggled together in bed, followed by a picture of the mama bird in her nest, wings spread over her two new chicks, a red ribbon woven into their nest. Jennifer M. Brabander