ONE HUNTER

One hilarious old hunter--grim-visaged, safari-clad, spindly--stomps along. . . as we see, half-concealed behind trees, two elephants who emerge. . . as the hunter, unawares, is passing between the legs of three giraffes. . . by which time everyone will be trying to spot, at the next turn of the page, four of something! Which turns out to be, trickily, four ostriches with their heads in the sand. All the way through ten parrots, the hunter remains oblivious--until confronted suddenly with ""10 parrots 9 snakes 8 monkeys,"" etc. he panics--leaving us on the last page with the sight of one hunter taking to his heels. To the fun of participating (and anticipating) is added the lively expressiveness of the pictures themselves--so that you can return to the book again and again, and renew the pleasure of first acquaintance. The closest parallel in Hutchins' work, indeed, may be Rosie's Walk.