Dogs Rule!

Daniel Kirk (Illustrator)

Though I work in a bookstore, I discovered 1 2 3 when my brother gave it to my one-year-old daughter with the intention of helping her learn to count. At first glance I thought it was a nice counting book with beautiful illustrations. Once we read it a couple times, though, I began to notice details I had missed that made reading this book so much more than reciting numbers.

Each page represents a number and also offers delightful hidden surprises. The number six, for example, stars Hansel and Gretel and six shiny sweets, six lollipops outside the witch’s house, six mushrooms in the yard, six white birds, and six cats sulking about. Every page is a scavenger hunt with tons of little details tucked into the nooks and crannies of the illustrations that reinforce that page’s number. Children (and their parents) will enjoy recognizing characters they know well, with spreads depicting scenes from fairy tales from Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk to The Red Shoes and Little Red Riding Hood. There are often characters from other stories slipped into the background, foreshadowing their dedicated page to come. If you look out the window of the Gingerbread Man’s kitchen, for example, you will see Jack’s beanstalk off in the distance and the Ugly Duckling’s pond on the horizon.

This is one counting book I won’t mind reading over and over because I find new details each time we read it. My daughter, at one, is captivated by the illustrations. She loves pointing out the different animals and details. I can only imagine that as she gets older, she will love the treasure-hunt aspects this book offers even more than I do. I think it will help make counting and learning math a lot of fun for her!

Format

Hardcover

Also available from:

CRITICS HAVE SAID

Kirk sings these clever selections on the accompanying CD. His voice is pleasant and the enunciation is clear. The varied instrumental styles such as rock, blues, and toy piano add another level of enjoyment to the book. This poetic canine tribute is sure to be a hit with dog lovers.–School Library Journal

IF YOU LOVE THIS BOOK, THEN TRY:

Calmenson, Stephanie. May I Pet Your Dog?: The How-to Guide for Kids Meeting Dogs (and Dogs Meeting Kids). Clarion, 2007.

Florian, Doug. Bow Wow Meow Meow. Harcourt, 2003.

George, Kristine O’Connell. Little Dog Poems. Clarion, 1999.

Gottfried, Maya. Good Dog. Knopf, 2005.

Graham, Bob. Benny: An Adventure Story. Candlewick, 1999.

Hall, Donald. I Am the Dog, I Am the Cat. Dial, 1994.

Hausman, Gerald, and Loretta Hausman. Dogs of Myth: Tales from Around the World. Simon & Schuster, 1999.

Johnston, Tony. It’s About Dogs.Harcourt, 2000.

Kalman, Maira. What Pete Ate from A-Z. Putnam, 2001.

Kirk, Daniel. Cat Power!Hyperion, 2007.

Kirk, Daniel. Go! Hyperion, 2001.

Laden, Nina. Bad Dog. Walker, 2000.

Laden, Nina. The Night I Followed the Dog. Chronicle, 1994.

Meddaugh, Susan. Martha Speaks. Houghton, 1992.

Miller, Sara Swan. Three Stories You Can Read to Your Dog. Houghton, 1995.

Singer, Marilyn. It’s Hard to Read a Map with a Beagle on Your Lap. Henry Holt, 1993.

Sklansky, Amy E. From the Doghouse: Poems to Chew On.Henry Holt, 2002.

Stevens, Janet, and Susan Stevens Crummel. Help Me, Mr. Mutt!: Expert Answers for Dogs with People Problems. Harcourt, 2008.

Teague, Mark. Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School. Scholastic, 2002.

Yolen, Jane. Raining Cats and Dogs. Harcourt, 1993.