Written and Illustrated by Laurie Keller
Henry Holt and Company, 2005
I’m Grandpa Gazillion and she’s Hildegarde.
Welcome, dear friends, to my ol’ number yard.
The plot in a nutshell: A rhyming list of alternative uses for numbers.
Grandpa Gazillion runs a business selling numbers and, as he points out, they’re not just used for counting anymore. In rhyming couplets, he counts from one to twenty and shows all the different ways that you can use the physical representations of each number. For example, a 1 can be used as a trapeze and a 13 can be used (with the addition of some string) as a parachute. He ends with a reminder to always keep your numbers with you, because a smart kid like you can probably think of lots of uses for them.
Who knew that 14 was so seaworthy?
If you like your counting books a little on the wild side and full of silliness, author/illustrator Laurie Keller has the book for you. Everything about this book is wild, frenetic and fun, starting from the acknowledgement page, where a thank you note is written to be sung to the tune of ‘Y.M.C.A’ by the Village People. We are introduced to Grandpa Gazillion and his yard rat, Hilde, and as they take us on a tour of these numbers, the background illustrations, in acrylic paint, are filled with jokes, word balloons and items for your little one to count. You’ll really want to take your time with this one so you can notice everything. It’s full of comical ideas and new ways to look at the shapes and physicality of numbers. Although I didn’t get the opportunity to speak to Ms. Keller in person at the Inspiration Day event, it was clear from the panel discussion that the quirky humor seen in her books is a big part of who she is.
And what did we learn? What I take away from this book is that creativity can lead to some pretty funny ideas.
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