Review by Booklist Review
Ages 3-5. Impressive collages featuring an affectionate African American family will provide youngsters with the opportunity to count from 1 to 10, not once but twice. In the first sequence, an urban mother and her five children shop for food that is suggestive of their rural southern roots: "Two pumpkins for pie / three chickens to fry / . . . five kinds of beans / six bunches of greens." In the second, they work together (Dad recycles) to prepare dinner for their extended family. Using cut paper and cloth, Falwell has created appealing figures that are solid, highly textured, and convincing. The easy-to-identify forms, the descriptive sentences naming the objects to be counted, and the brightly patterned fabric numerals are set off against expansive white space. A joyful celebration of family and food.--Julie Corsaro
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A family's dinner preparations, from supermarket to table, are the foundation of what PW dubbed a ``cozy counting book.'' Ages 4-8. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-- In this rhyming counting book, an African-American mother and her children shop for and prepare a festive family dinner. At the supermarket, the count begins with one grocery cart and ends with ten hands helping to load the car. Back at home, the father joins in the preparations and the numbers build a second time to ``ten hungry folks'' seated around a table ready to share a tasty meal of fried chicken and greens. The successful rhyme scheme builds a natural rhythm that helps the simple text read smoothly. Collage illustrations combine colored paper, patterned fabrics, and felt in a clear, uncluttered design. Muted colors and simple shapes are set off by a stark white background. Most of the figures, especially the baby girl with her rounded limbs and bouncing braids, are animated and expressive. At times, however, facial features seem slightly stilted and relentlessly cheerful. Still, this is an appealing glance at a typical extended family. --Joy Fleishhacker, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Falwell has captured the warmth and love of an African-American family. As Mother and her children are shopping for and preparing the dinner meal, the focus is counting from one to ten. The brightly colored, collagelike illustrations depict the bouncing energy of the children and their attentive mother. The creative counting story will delight younger readers. From HORN BOOK 1993, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The creator of Clowning Around (1991) brings her strong sense of design to a counting book in which numbers are skillfully dovetailed into a simple depiction of an African- American family going marketing and then, in a second count from one to ten, preparing and serving a meal. With Mother, four children scouting for groceries, ``five kinds of beans'' (including jelly beans), ``six bunches of greens,'' and ``ten hands to help''--including Mother's but not baby's--a nice bit reasoning is needed to work out the counts, and it all works out logically. Falwell uses crisp, bright, beautifully designed collages of fabric and paper silhouetted on white for her warm portrayal of this lively, well-organized family, quietly incorporating contemporary touches (a recycling bin; males helping out in the kitchen). Developed with imagination and care, an unusually attractive offering. (Picture book. 2-7)
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