Common Sense Media Review
By Patricia Tauzer
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Happy, colorful celebration of counting and families.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Starting with the idea of "one" representing a single book or a single person, ONE FAMILY moves through the numbers from 1 to 10, showing how groups of individuals also can make one. As with one box of many colors of crayons, one flock of birds, one pile of rocks, one tack of books, or one batch of many cookies, "[O]ne is one and everyone. One earth. One world. One family." This is not only a book about counting groups but also a celebration of families. And these families are in every shape and size you can imagine, from babies in strollers to gray-haired grandparents, different ethnicities, some tall, some short, and so on. Simple text suggests items to be counted, and amazingly expressive artwork by Blanca Gomez shows a world full of people smiling, waving, and interacting.
Is It Any Good?
Rich, eye-catching artwork, simple text, and a clever idea create a friendly, fun, interactive counting book that also celebrates a happy, multicultural world. Kids and adults alike will enjoy the number challenges on each page and will be drawn in by the illustrations.
Illustrator Gomez has a talent for creating a sense of happiness in the world of her drawings that extends beyond the pages of the book and shows that a family can be many things.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the counting question on each page. How many groups of two can you find? Groups of three, and so on? What other examples can you think of?
What does the illustrator add to each page with her artwork, especially with the way she shows the different people in each family? How do you feel about the different families? Do any of them remind you of yours?
How is this book like other counting books you've read? How is it different?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Blanca Gomez
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship , Numbers and Letters
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Publication date : May 26, 2015
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Number of pages : 32
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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