diverse picture book (counting; friendship / toddlers and preschoolers 18 mos. and up)
* book prominently features diverse characters: Yes, one of the two main characters is an African-American girl; the other, Caucasian, girl can be interpreted as her best friend or possibly an adopted sister (they sleep in the same bed at the end--more likely they are just having a sleepover, but I would let the kids decide).
* book would work for toddler storytime (or preschool storytime). Some of the countable images are small, and there is a lot more detail present for one-on-one sharing, but the text is brief and rhymic, and this could work for a toddler or preschool storytime.
* Book works with "Counting" theme. Yes, the repetition of 1s and 2s occurs throughout the entire book, but there is also a friendship storyline told through that repetition. Note that it only mentions ones and twos, but if you are sharing this with a small group you could take the opportunities to count other, more numerous objects if the children are already fairly well versed in their numbers. ( )

The art is kid friendly. It looks like collages and arts and craft projects that young children would do from construction paper and glue. The art encourages diversity. The main characters featured are two young girls who appear to be friends, one white and one black. On several illustrations, the people drawn represent many different ethnicity. There are flags from different countries used as examples.

This is a concept book, teaching young children the difference between the numbers one and two. The sentence structure is very simple: one girl, two legs. This structure is used exclusively from beginning to the end of the book. The book starts with 1-2 progression, then move 2-1. The back of the book varies between 1-2 and 2-1. This style is similar to how I teach math in my class: start with very simple examples, moving towards more complex, and wrap up with randomized problems of different complexity. ( )

Very simple, yet lots to look at !!! ( )

This is a cute rhyming book for young children. It also has illustrations that help with understanding the dialogue. The story is all about how many of the specific things on the page are, but not in the "traditional" way. Despite being about counting, there is a underlying story about two girls having a fun day together.
The illustration looks to be made from paper cut-outs. It has bright colors, and fun shapes that children will enjoy. ( )

Collage illustrations provide the movement through this early counting book focusing on the numbers one and two. The main characters, a robin and a pair of girls, carry out an afternoon's activities as the text states which items are in alone and which are in pairs. The paper-collage illustrations are often cluttered, making it difficult to see where the ones and twos are located within the spread. Not recommended. Ages 2-3. ( )