One-Osaurus, Two-Osaurus by Kim Norman, illustrated by Pierre Collet-Derby (9781536201796)

Some dinosaurs start their morning with a counting game. “One-osaurus, two-osaurus, three-osaurus, four.” After counting to seven, a huge ROAR interrupts the counting. The dinosaurs gather together in a herd and then make a run for it, knowing that something big is heading their way. Soon they are all hiding behind their numbers, letting us count them one more time: one through nine. Where is ten? He’s coming now, he’s “ten-osaurus rex.” But he may not be what the readers expect when he is revealed and the book takes a great twist in the end too.

Norman’s simple writing begs to be shared aloud. This counting book really works well, the numbers on the page playing into the rhyming text and building with it. The pace is wild and romping, something that makes the counting all the more fun. Thanks to its clever structure, young readers get to merrily count the dinosaurs again and again in the book without it feeling at all repetitious. The humor is a large part of the success of the book too.

That same humor is reflected in the illustrations which are big and bold, adding to the read-aloud appeal. The various dinosaurs are bright colored and pop against the changing colors of the background. Having them hide behind their big black numbers adds to the counting fun, including a page where the numbers aren’t in order and young children can find the numbers in a new way.

Smart, funny and full of dinosaurs. You can count on this one being popular. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy provided by Candlewick Press.