The few words on each page of Count! invite a pattern of activities beyond counting: "Stretch, giraffes!" accompanies images of five yellow-and-black giraffes craning their necks on a neon pink page spread that includes the numeral, five green squares and the words "five giraffes." Lunch tells about a hungry mouse, gives children a chance to predict what he will eat by showing part of it on the preceding page, describing it with an adjective and indicating a color, such as a "crisp, white turnip." Both books are fun to use and dynamic to see from a distance due to Fleming's refreshing concepts of color and space. Book jacket information includes a description of Fleming's unique papermaking technique in which she builds layers of colored pulp. (Ages 3-7)

It's time for lunch, and one little mouse is famished! In fact, he's so hungry that once he starts eating, he can't stop. He sinks his teeth into a crisp white turnip, gobbles up some orange carrots, devours an ear of yellow corn, then tosses back some tender green peas. He's full, but this mouse keeps on munching until his bulging belly won't hold another bite.

Parents will see their own toddlers in this perky tale, and toddlers won't get enough of the gregarious little mouse. They'll proudly identify the colors of his (and their) favorite foods, and enjoy guessing what fruit or vegetable he'll eat next. Color-savvy readers are sure to spot the rainbow contained in the background pages-- and almost everyone will agree that this is one book about colors that makes the plain old primaries look positively pale!

An ALA Notable Book