1, 2, BOO: A spooky counting book by Paul Howard

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Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2019. ISBN: 9781526612052. Board book.
(Age: 3-5) Recommended. Themes: Halloween, Counting. Young children will love this counting book with its funny illustrations and will be happy to count along when it is read. Two little children go trick-or-treating, finding all sorts of amazing things as they go along, including 'one hairy, scary wolf, howling at the moon. Aroooo!' and 'nine snazzy witch's cats, looking for some fun' until they find 'Ten giant bags of treats. Let's eat them! Yum, yum yum'.
This is a variation on Howard's I went trick-or-treating and its sturdy board structure makes it perfect for younger children. The illustrations are very humorous and not at all scary, as all the characters have happy smiling faces. I loved the cute expressions on the faces of the three green, friendly, smiley ghosts, complete with little hats and even a bowtie, and the four dancing skeletons are a hoot. The brother and sister decked out in their Halloween costumes are a treat to follow as they have lots of fun encountering monster boogie kings, smiley ghosts, silly skeletons, wizard's owls, creepy spiders, warty toads, spook-wooky bats, witch's cats and giant bags of treats. The multitude of amusing details beg for a closer look at the illustrations and could result in children not only counting the figures but examining the expressions on the children's faces and what all the characters are doing on each page.
The rhymes and humour in 1, 2, Boo! make this a wonderful book to share and great to read aloud. It is sure to become a firm favourite to read before Halloween.
Pat Pledger

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