One Pup's Up
PreSchool-K—Starting with a picture of a sleepy-looking mother dog and her litter, with one youngster sneaking off, and the words "1 pup's up," the text counts the dogs up to 10 and back again. Their day includes everything from "6 puppies piddle…" to "7 pups pounce./8 puppies chase./9 puppies bounce/in a pudgy puppy race." The rhyming text is short and effective. It scans well, and, while not outstanding, reads aloud smoothly, and captures the essence of puppyhood. Cole's engaging watercolor and ink artwork captures little tails as they poke up, and nearly every pup is distinctive: some are solid black, brown, tan, or white, while others sport spots in differing colors and patterns. The pages vary in layout from spot art to full-bleed spreads, imbuing the book with motion and personality. The animals joyfully romp and play, and little listeners are sure to enjoy counting them and finding favorites. And therein lies the problem. As the numbers increase, the puppies get harder to count. By 10, two of them are nearly off the page, with one only a nose and paws and the other a tail and ears. It seems likely that preschoolers will have difficulty with this. That caveat aside, the book is sure to be popular. An additional purchase where more counting books are needed.—Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CTCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.