11/01/2013
PreS-Gr 1—Abigail, a giraffe, loves to count, but she's having trouble finding something to use for practice. First Ladybug moves, next Zebra eats the leaves, and neither Zebra nor Cheetah can stay still long enough for their markings to be enumerated. Ladybug suggests a field of flowers, but the friends that offer to help are not very good at counting: "'One…two…six…lots!' bellowed Zebra. 'One…three…five…many!' laughed Cheetah." Patiently, Abigail teaches them to count, only to have the sun go down. They're disappointed until, in a vertically unfolding page, she shows them they can tally the stars. The story is simple, with an appropriately brief text that reads aloud smoothly. The counting element is not entirely successful, though, as the counting is done in spurts, often in the middle of a number set. What shines are the illustrations. Rayner imbues her splotchy, impressionistic, watercolor giraffe with personality. The creature's neck often curves along the top of the page, just barely fitting in the frame and bringing her to life. The backgrounds and other animals transport readers to the African savannah, and the twilight wash that darkens to a purple-streaked, star-speckled blue is beautiful to behold. Even the endpapers, covered with giraffe splotches on white, delight the eyes. The exceptional art in this lovely piece of bookmaking carries the story to a higher level.—Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT
2013-09-01
Gorgeous, lush illustrations strengthen a somewhat loosely connected story. Abigail is a giraffe who loves to count. She tries to count the spots on a ladybug, the stripes on a zebra and the splotches on a cheetah. But no one will stay still long enough. Then Ladybug suggests counting a field of flowers, and Zebra and Cheetah offer their help. Abigail finds that her friends are "not very good at counting," so she spends the day teaching them. By the time they get the hang of it, though, darkness has fallen. But all is not in vain. With a dramatic vertical gatefold, Abigail shows them the stars to count. Rayner's sumptuous watercolors both realistically portray the animals (managing to make Abigail endearing as well) and give readers a sense of the evocative atmosphere of the African savanna. Where the book weakens is in its page design and ending. Three double-page spreads, leading readers' eyes backward instead of forward have the unwanted consequence of stalling the page-turns in an already haltingly paced story. The ending, when it arrives, is lackluster and leaves readers with little of the sense of the grandeur the illustrations evoke. A richly illustrated story that could benefit from better page design and crisper storytelling. (Picture book. 3-7)
