Primo primate artist Anthony Browne is at the top of his form with a simple — and simply fascinating — array of creatures for kids to count.
What better attention-getter for small children than primates in all their variety? And who better to render them than Anthony Browne? In this elegant counting book, the author-illustrator outdoes himself with a vivid presentation of primates from gorillas to gibbons, macaques to mandrills, ring-tailed lemurs to spider monkeys. With his striking palette, exquisite attention to detail, and quirky flair for facial expressions, Anthony Browne slyly extends the basic number concept into a look at similarities and differences — portraying an extended family we can count ourselves part of.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful.
Superb
By J.Prather
One Gorilla by Anthony Browne is a superb counting book. Like all truly excellent first concept books, this one works on many levels. When examined as an effective way to learn counting, it does the job extremely well. Young counters are treated to two page spreads for each number from one to ten. The number is prominently displayed and the primates to be counted are each well-defined and distinct. The only thing that would have made this incredible look at 1-10 even better is if the number word would have been included.It is very hard to convey the charm and dazzling beauty to be seen in these illustrations. From the titular One Gorilla who peers out at us with a rather bemused and wise expression, to the ten mischievous lemurs that grace the final counting pages, each of these primates has a distinct personality. Sneaky sideways glances or hooded glares all convey a surprising depth emotion. What fun you and your little one will have examining each face and trying to figure out just what is going on in the heads of all these distinguished and oh so human primates. You really get the impression that these are a series of class pictures, complete with grumpy teachers and class cut-ups!The color palette is striking, bringing the two orangutans to brilliant life in just the perfect shade of orange. The five baboons peer out of a sea of yellows and browns, while the six gibbons present a rainbow of browns, oranges and tans. The macaques are frosty hued and perhaps the most expressive, while the nine colubus monkeys are an interesting study in black and white.It's the ending of this book that elevates it to a level higher than your usual counting primer. When I turned the page and found a realistic portrait of the author along with the text "All primates. All one family. All my family..." I was rather startled. This open and somewhat vulnerable self-portrait tied everything together in a way that was quickly obvious. It made me want to go back through all of the illustrations one more time to see how all these faces were tied together. In case you have missed the point so far, the next two page spread features a class picture of the human race, once again emphasizing how we are all related.The art is outstanding, it does a wonderful job of teaching basic counting, and reinforces a one world, one family view that I wholeheartedly endorse. I loved this book and will be recommending it for all of the young patrons at our library and their parents! Even if you don't have anyone in your family working on mastering their numbers, invest in this one anyway just for the art. Sometimes the simplest messages can be the most powerful.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.Wonderful
By harold olson
The art work in this book is worth the price. I got it for my 2 year old grandson it has helped him with his counting as he loves to look at it. My 4 year old grandson also loves it and it has helped him recognize numbers he can count objects but he wasn't great on recognizing the number.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Very Unique Book
By D. Jones
The book is beautifully illustrated and it is larger than I was expecting, which is not a bad thing. I like it and so does my 3 year old grandson. I don't have a problem with the reference to evolution at the end of the book but I imagine some people would.
