ZOO DAY ¡OLÉ!
A Counting Book
by Phillis Gershator and illustrated by Santiago Cohen
A trip to the zoo includes not only the thrill of seeing the different animals but, with Abuelita, it also means counting in Spanish from one to ten with each activity of the day. Whether counting the critters at the petting zoo or the folks in the ice-cream line, Abuelita adds a new number each time. “Abuelita counts the animals waiting by the gate. Siete means seven— / and ocho means eight. Abuelita counts the people in the ice cream line, Ocho means eight— / and nueve means nine.” Cohen provides plain, coloring-book–style figures hand-drawn in black outline and Photoshop-colored with bright, opaque hues to enhance the simplicity of this rhyming concept book. While the infectious rhyme and repetition reinforced by page turns make for an effective presentation of the numbers in both languages, the pages do not show numerals—a perplexing choice for a counting concept book. (Picture book. 3-5)