MORE THAN ONE
by Miriam Schlein & illustrated by Donald Crews
Can one be more than one? Yes, when there are two shoes in one pair, nine players on one baseball team, and twelve eggs in one dozen. One family can be two or three or four or more people, and one ocean "has billion/and trillions/and skadillions/of drops of water"—but they are still one family and one ocean. Schlein (Big Talk, 1990, etc.) shows that one doesn't have to be but always is one, and makes an intriguing puzzle for children to ponder. Crew's illustrations, as comfortable and sturdy as the pair of shoes "on your feet/or under the bed," and as wispy and full of flight as a flock of birds that is "awfully hard to count," are nicely wedded to the concept. (Picture book. 4+)