Counting on Community

Toddler-PreS--In this powerful concept book follow-up to A Is for Activist (Triangle Pr., 2013), Nagara tackles counting. Typical urban neighborhood pastimes are depicted with verve and vibrant colors, including working in community gardens and drawing with sidewalk chalk. Young readers will have fun trying to locate an ever-present duck on each spread. Racial and ethnic diversity is celebrated on every page, and the lyrical text will inspire budding and longtime activists alike.

Nagara builds on the success of A Is for Activist with a counting book that celebrates active communities. Following some unfortunate apostrophe omissions on the opening spread ("Living in a community, / it's a lot of fun!/ Lets count the ways./ Lets start with one"), it's smooth sailing as Nagara devotes pages to everything from urban farming and chalk drawing to potlucks and protests ("Eight picket signs/ showing that we care"). Nagara's vibrant digital collages hum with energy as a multicultural crew of children and adults work, play, and collaborate. Brushed, woodgrain-style textures lend an organic feel to the images, while radiating lines in the backgrounds emphasize the idea that close-knit communities like this one have real power. Ages 3-7. (Sept.)