cover image Counting Friends

Counting Friends

Rebecca Gryspeerdt. Random House (UK), $13.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-1-85681-092-0

A slightly dotty rhyming text and particularly forceful art keep this entry afloat amid the ocean of available counting books. Arranged in groups of one through 10, the eponymous friends range from ``three hairy apes / Cultivating grapes'' to ``six saucy pigs / Trying on their wigs.'' Facing the text, square illustrations set against blank white borders echo the book's small square format. Bold outlines, strong color and flattened perspectives add punch, as do Gryspeerdt's eccentric details: the primping pigs seem to be at a pajama party, the 10 sleeping sheep have just consumed a picnic feast. Convened in a grand finale, the characters cavort at the beach--the crabs ride the waves atop small rafts, an ape plays leapfrog with a sheep and a couple of cats fly a kite. Disarming. Ages 3-5. (Feb.)