Common Sense Media Review
By Regan McMahon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
For number or letter fans, this adds up to a fun read.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
The letter A and the number 1, the story's main characters and co-narrators, try to figure out whether this is a book about letters or numbers as things to be identified and counted keep mounting. The spirited rivalry continues to the last page and punch line, where they encounter a splotch of red looking for a book about colors.
Is It Any Good?
123 VERSUS ABC is a fresh, imaginative take on those two classroom classics: counting and learning the alphabet. Loaded with humor and action as people, animals, and other things keep adding up, it's a fast-paced, never static adventure with lots to discover on each spread, such as finding why 18 robots are wearing 19 sombreros (one is wearing two). Author-illustrator Mike Boldt's funny, colorful illustrations are as entertaining as his amusing text.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about which are better, numbers or letters? Which do you like better, anyway? Why?
There are lots of alphabet and counting books. What do you think about combining both in one book?
How do the pictures help tell the story?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Mike Boldt
- Genre : Alphabet
- Topics : Transportation ( Cars & Trucks ) , Animals ( Dinosaurs , Wild Animals ) , Numbers and Letters , Robots
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Harper
- Publication date : June 25, 2013
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Available on : Nook, Hardback
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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