Ten Black Dots

PreS-Gr 2 This revised and redesigned edition of Crews' 1968 book contains several changes that give the title more appeal. The larger format makes the book a more useful choice for story hour sessions. Larger and more legible type makes reading easier for beginners. Although the rhymed text to introduce objects from one to ten remains almost unchanged, the colors of the objects have been altered, and textures have been added for visual variety. The rake now moves through tiny grass bits, for example, and the piggy bank looks more like a pink porker than did its brown predecessor. Crews' unmistakable graphic style is still evident, and the striking visuals are the book's strong feature. Unfortunately, Crews does not avoid one pitfall that plagues many picture books: the relationship between objects of different sizes. The two dots that are the fox's eyes are the same size as the two in the eyes of keys on the opposite page. Hence, each key is almost as large as the head of a fox. An addition in the new version is a series of black dots to be counted at the end of the book. Despite some weaknesses, the book is a good choice for collections in which straightforward counting books are in high demand.Kathy Piehl, Mankato State University, Minn.