1 2 3 4 U: David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim

I think this sturdy “Ugly Boards” board book is funny! It’s a counting book: 1 through 10, done in comic book style. The characters are all simple, cartoon monsters, who speak in speech bubbles.

Although the book looks simple, the more you look at the drawings, the more funny things you notice. Like the spread for number 8, for instance. On the left-hand page there are eight monster heads to count. Also, as concept reinforcements--the numeral “8” and the word “Eight.” On the right-hand page, there’s a monster at a lunch table, munching what looks like an 8-shaped pretzel. As you study more closely, you notice that there’s a small jar of “8 DIP” nearby to add a little flavor. And the speech bubble reads:

I ATE 8.

On the back, there’s a little monster holding two cookies in each hand. His speech bubble reads:

I wish 2 + 2 = 5.

(As a confirmed cookie monster myself, I know just how he feels!)

This is a quirky, enjoyable counting book that totz will likely want to ponder more than once. There are others in this series, including ABC U LATER, and UGLY COLORS.

About the creators:

Ugly Dolls creators David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim met at Parsons School of Design. Their characters grew out of letters they wrote to each other after Sun-Min returned to Korea.

1 2 3 4 U

by David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim

Random House, 2009