COUNT DOWN TO CLEAN UP!

Ten of Wallace’s signature bunnies (Paperwhite, 2000, etc.) gather together to neaten up a park. Almost wordless, the text counts down from ten as the bunnies stop by various stores, hardware, gardening, etc., to pick up supplies to complete their tasks. Children will pore over the detailed pages looking for clues to who disappears from the group. On the title page, portraits of the individual bunnies are placed so that kids may delight in naming each one (Henry is the one with glasses, Mae has a red ribbon, and Jack is in blue) and follow their progress through the story. The layout is clean and obvious, with each number written out in bold-face on the upper-left-hand corner of each double-page spread. Observant readers will find the numeral posted somewhere else on the page sometimes as an address on a door, perhaps placed on a window display item or on a sale sign. The bright, bold cut-paper collage supports the subtracting and adding concepts. For each number, children can count the bunnies along with discovering at least one grouping of similar items, such as five very different bird feeders. This is a pleasing, developmentally appropriate volume that not only supports the math concepts but will be a welcome addition for neighborhood studies. Delightful. (Picture book. 2-5)