Mallat’s picture-book solo is a combination counting book and lullaby. Abby is in bed but she isn’t tired; she begins counting, first the sheep on her wallpaper, then the fish in her mobile, then the dots on her teddy’s pajamas, and on through many of the items in her room. Mallat’s simple rhyme—“Abby counts the books that she just read./She counts the leaves scattered next to her bed”—is punctuated by Abby’s counting. Everything about the book suggests sublime innocence, from the text and the decorations surrounding it, to the chubby, realistically-drawn Abby, to the rhythm, similar to “One Potato, Two,” that serves as a lulling background beat. The repetitions and Abby’s movements—in bed, out of bed, back into bed’should make this book a gateway for listeners to the sometimes elusive Land of Nod. (Picture book. Ages 2-6)
