This series of books is an ideal present for a new child. It comprises five individual titles: You’re One!, You’re Two!, You’re Three!, You’re Four!, and You’re Five!.
The first two in the set are cardboard-paged, whilst the remaining three have hard covers. Each book celebrates another year of growth with simple rhyming text and adorable animal-based illustrations by Katherine Battersby.
The message for the child is that they are special and in fact the text explicitly tells them with the words, such as:
“One is special.
You are one of a kind.
Great things come in ones.
Which ones will we find?”
Each book celebrates the things that a growing child can experience and the bright, engaging illustrations let the little one explore with the person reading to them. Basic concepts of counting, seasons, time, numbers and the uniqueness of the child and the age being celebrated are intertwined into these books that will be treasured and asked for time after time.
The main characters in each book change, but stay with a parental figure and a little one. You’re One! features a duck; You’re Two!, a bear; You’re Three!, an alligator; You’re Four!, a meerkat; and You’re Five!, a goat.
Shelly Unwin has also used language to expand the vocabulary of the child in each book. She has cleverly developed her story, telling it in a way that allows for parent/child discussions to occur because the text will need exploring for the pages to be turned.
Reviewed by Leanne Caune
Rating out of 10: 9
Released by: Allen and Unwin
Release Date: May 2017
RRP: $12.99 each
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