Simplicity in Numbers
Take one look at this book cover and you’ll know why I couldn’t wait to open it up and read it. Look at that illustration! Plus I recently went to Miami Metro Zoo recently and observed gorillas for a while and was completely enamored as they were using sign language with the zookeeper. By the way, after that zoo visit I was compelled to find out why gorillas have that huge and strangely shaped head. The reason is that it needs to support their super-sized temporal muscles that are required to help them chew all the fibrous veggies they eat. They do not eat meat! Yet I digress …
One Gorilla: A Counting Book ($16.99, Candlewick Press, Ages 3-5) is simple, just like a counting book for wee ones should be. But it is also wonderful because the illustrations are extraordinary. Author/illustrator Anthony Browne, a recent Children’s Laureate in Great Britain, has penned and illustrated more than 40 books! His attention to detail makes these pictures worth lingering over for a really long time.
The book features 10 different primates, plus has a little bit of a clever ending. From the book jacket, colorful inside front and back covers to each and every page, it is a visual wonderland. Your little ones are sure to be motivated to learn how to count after reading One Gorilla. It may also invite you to open an initial discussion about evolution, if you so choose to do so.
– Reviewed by Debbie Glade
©Photo by Debbie Glade
Feeding time at the Miami Zoo sure is entertaining. Look closely: this big guy has an orange in his mouth.