ANIMAL COUNTDOWN

Bold graphics with “I spy” die cuts deliver a compelling call to save endangered and threatened species.

Seeger is well established as a master of the concept book, and her latest offering lives up to this reputation for excellence. It reads like a mashup of her earlier titles The Hidden Alphabet (2003) and Green (2012); she adopts a layout similar to the former and an ecological ethos like the latter while presenting the numbers 10 through one. The first spread shows the word ten on the verso in sans serif knockout type against a murky backdrop, while the facing page depicts the numeral 10 organically formed by the hazy background, revealed through a die-cut window in a brown gatefold page. When the gatefold is lifted vertically, the 10 appears as part of a reflective, watery setting where 10 sea otters huddle, adorably gazing out at readers. Ensuing spreads continue this pattern, showing nine elephants (the 9 formed by a pachyderm’s trunk), eight giraffes (the 8 appearing in markings on the animal’s fur), and so on. Seeger’s choice of a countdown provides a subtle message about the dwindling numbers of the portrayed animals, all of which, according to the backmatter, are “threatened or endangered, some critically.” Thumbnails with additional facts about the animals round out this artful, necessary picture book.

Count on Seeger for powerful, accessible art for young readers.