Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Counting down from 10 to one, Vaccaro Seeger (The Hidden Alphabet) offers readers concept-based puzzles both visual and tactile. Each spread features a number's word form on the verso, set in chunky, translucent type against an unidentified habitat. On the recto, readers can guess the animal inhabitant based on textures peeking through a small, square die-cut window, which reveals a pattern that resembles the appropriate attending numeral. "Nine," for example, appears against a grassy plain rendered in luscious smears of yellows, golds, and browns. The window in the deep red flap opposite reveals the numeral 9 in the shape of--could that be a tail? No, opening the flap reveals; it's a curled trunk belonging to one of nine pictured elephants. These consistently inventive visuals, together with touching animal characterizations--the creatures, all threatened or endangered, often gaze directly into readers' eyes--and pages made of heavy, smooth paper, make this book intriguing to both hold and behold. Back matter provides additional detail on each species. Ages 4--8. (Oct.)
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Review by Horn Book Review
These lift-the-flap books creatively showcase threatened or endangered creatures (Countdown) and the ABCs (Alphabet; a reissue from 2003, rev. 1/04). In Countdown, left-hand pages present a spelled-out number, beginning with ten and counting down to one, on a textured mixed-media background that hints at a habitat. Right-hand pages (which lift up) are matte colors with square or rectangular die-cuts revealing additional glimpses of the scene below -- and in the general shape of the numeral being highlighted. The number nine, for example, shows a glimpse of an elephant's curled-up trunk, and eight is the negative space of a giraffe's markings. They're not all obvious; careful looking and use of imagination are bonuses, and additional creature facts are appended. Alphabet goes from A to Z, with clean black backgrounds and a word on every page (arrowhead, balloons, yolk, zipper). From Lolly Robinson's original Magazine review: "Lift the flaps and foreground turns background as pictured images become the negative space defining the letter form...This is great bookmaking, and a snazzy -- though sophisticated -- addition to the alphabet bookshelf." Sturdy flaps; thoughtfully placed and well-sized die cuts; abundant surprises; and visual delights make both of these volumes welcome and artistically elevated concept books. Elissa GershowitzSeptember/October 2024 p.61 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Bold graphics with "I spy" die cuts deliver a compelling call to save endangered and threatened species. Seeger is well established as a master of the concept book, and her latest offering lives up to this reputation for excellence. It reads like a mashup of her earlier titlesThe Hidden Alphabet (2003) andGreen (2012); she adopts a layout similar to the former and an ecological ethos like the latter while presenting the numbers 10 through one. The first spread shows the wordten on the verso in sans serif knockout type against a murky backdrop, while the facing page depicts the numeral 10 organically formed by the hazy background, revealed through a die-cut window in a brown gatefold page. When the gatefold is lifted vertically, the 10 appears as part of a reflective, watery setting where 10 sea otters huddle, adorably gazing out at readers. Ensuing spreads continue this pattern, showing nine elephants (the 9 formed by a pachyderm's trunk), eight giraffes (the 8 appearing in markings on the animal's fur), and so on. Seeger's choice of a countdown provides a subtle message about the dwindling numbers of the portrayed animals, all of which, according to the backmatter, are "threatened or endangered, some critically." Thumbnails with additional facts about the animals round out this artful, necessary picture book. Count on Seeger for powerful, accessible art for young readers. (further reading)(Picture book. 2-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
