UNO’S GARDEN

Base plays with words, images and even numbers in this lavishly illustrated introduction to the importance of natural balance. Delighted by the sight of ten Moopaloops, 100 plants and even a single, ordinary Snortlepig, Uno builds a cabin within a lush forest. Soon he’s joined by other settlers, who increase even as the flora and fauna decrease on every spread—culminating in a sterile city surrounded by polluted waters. After the inhabitants all depart in disgust, Uno’s descendants build more carefully, and as time goes on the Pricklebacks, Flipperflaps, Moopaloops and other fanciful creatures come back . . . except for the Snortlepig, who remains absent even when a climactic, teeming double gatefold scene reveals a harmoniously balanced community of small dwellings carefully dispersed amidst equal numbers of plants and animals. Depicting humans with comically sheep-like features and populating his world with a host of extravagantly odd animals, Base provides a visual feast that makes his point in a simple, direct but never overly earnest way. (Picture book. 7-10)