​Chelsey Bahlmann Bollinger
Concept books play an important role in early childhood education, introducing young readers to foundational ideas like numbers, shapes, letters, and patterns. From Alice Oehr’s Artichoke to Zucchini to Brendan Wenzel’s Shapes, the books reviewed here use captivating illustrations and playful narratives that make them valuable resources for fostering curiosity and early learning.

​Artichoke to Zucchini: An Alphabet of Delicious Things from Around the World. Alice Oehr. (2024). Scribble.
This picture book, dedicated to foodies, takes readers on an alphabetic adventure exploring a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and food favorites of different cultures and countries. As they go through the ABCs, young children in the United States will recognize many food items such as apple, banana, and carrot, but will also find unknowns such as agar jelly, borlotti beans, and capsicums. For each letter of the alphabet, Alice Oehr provides a descriptive paragraph listing the foods pictured in the boldly colored and textured illustrations, rendered in a blend of pencil, pastel, cut paper, and digital collage. These visually stunning images are sure to keep readers engaged while also serving as a fun way to learn about the alphabet and various foods from around the world. (PreK-Gr 2)

​Cinnamon Bun, I Love You 1. Amy Schwartz. (2024). Beach Lane.
Amy Schwartz guides young readers through counting to ten in a story that follows toddlers and their caregivers as they engage in various activities with large, colorful numerals and a corresponding number of images on the verso pages and a simple rhyming couplet including the phrase “I love you” and a playful scene of the adult and child interacting on the recto page. For example, for 1, a woman affectionately says, “Cinnamon bun, I love you one” while she shares a bun with a toddler on a park bench, and for 5,  a man having a picnic lunch on a blanket with a child says, “Forks and knives, I love you five.” The book ends with ten toddlers sitting around a table eating heart-shaped cookies. (PreS Up) 

​Colors (Hello Hello). Brendan Wenzel. (2024). Chronicle.
In this beautifully crafted board book, Brendan Wenzel’s stunning artwork, created with cut paper, colored pencil, oil pastels, markers, and digital techniques, and rhythmic text introduce young readers to different colors on double-spread pages featuring a vibrant array of creatures in the animal kingdom as he continues his mission as an animal advocate while subtly raising awareness about wildlife conservation. For example, “Hello BLUE, cool, deep, and bright,” and “Hello RED, so full of life.” In the back matter, an informative list of the more than 60 featured animals, organized in the order of their appearance, each marked with a symbol indicating its conservation status (from near-threatened to critically endangered) fosters an early understanding of environmental stewardship. (PreS Up) 

Counting Winter. Nancy White Carlstrom. Illus. by Claudia McGehee. (2024). Eerdmans.
Nancy White Carlstrom’s lyrical text and Claudia McGehee’s scratchboard-and-watercolor illustrations capture the serene yet lively essence of winter in scenes featuring various animals that bring the wonders of the winter season to life through poetic language and vibrant imagery. Beginning with “One red fox walks / across the white snow / quietly / stalking winter,” the story unfolds as readers can count from one to twelve animals before a surprise ending. The back matter of this picture book, which offers a rhythmic, sensory-rich way to engage young readers with both numbers and nature during the winter season, includes profiles and fun facts about the featured animals, an author’s note, and an illustrator’s note. (PreK-Gr 2)

​​Five Speckled Frogs (Sing Along with Me!). Illus. by Yu-hsuan Huang. (2024). Nosy Crow.
This sturdy interactive board book includes movable components to manipulate as young readers engage with the playful verse of the popular nursery rhyme “Five Speckled Frogs” and count down from five to zero while arrows guide them through playful interactions on each page. A scannable QR code provides easy access to instrumental and vocal versions inviting readers to join in a sing-along as the pages are turned. Yu-hsuan Huang’s vibrant illustrations make Five Speckled Frogs a captivating early childhood book to be enjoyed again and again. (PreS Up) 

​Fun with Shapes (Math All Around). Katie Peters. (2024). Lerner.
This engaging nonfiction book from Lerner’s Pull Ahead Readers series uses repetition and photographs of children drawing various shapes that help young children build confidence as they have fun reading and learning about shapes. Katie Peters incorporates key features including a table of contents, section headings, a vocabulary list, and an index that introduce young readers to elements of informational texts. Teachers will find Fun with Shapes especially useful as a supplemental resource for lessons on basic geometric shapes. With its clear structure and approachable language, this book serves as a versatile tool in both literacy and math instruction for young learners. (PreK-Gr 2) 

​Go and Get with Rex. David LaRochelle. Illus. by Mike Wohnoutka. (2024). Candlewick.
In this playful story, Jack, Jill, and their dog, Rex, play a game called "Go and Get." On the count of three, the narrator tells them to find an item that starts with a specific letter. The book cleverly incorporates onomatopoeia and speech balloons to help readers guess the items they bring back. Rex, the ever-creative thinker, always brings back the same box but manages to make it work in unexpected ways. For example, when on the hunt for the letter S, the “hisssssssssss!” coming from a sack clues readers that Jack has found a slithering SNAKE and the “sssssspray!” from Jill’s animal cage makes it easy to identify a smelly SKUNK. However, the “Quack! Quack!” from Rex’s box suggests it contains ducks which begins with D not S. Rex makes it clear that the ducks are SISTERS and that Sisters does start with the letter S. The cartoon-like gouache illustrations add a whimsical touch, and the letter being focused on is highlighted in a bright color to emphasize it for readers just beginning to learn the alphabet. (PreK-Gr 2) 

​Little Fish’s Opposites (Little Fish). Lucy Cousins. (2024). Candlewick.
“Hello! I am Little Fish, / swimming in the sea. / Today I’m learning / opposite. Come / along with me.” Lucy Cousins’ playful board book with a rhyming text and her signature bold and colorful illustrations features Little Fish and his aquatic friends’ exploration of the concept of opposites like big and small, happy and sad, inside and outside, and light and dark. Each pair of opposites is illustrated with fish found in various environments, making the learning experience both fun and visually engaging for young children. For toddlers who are fascinated by the underwater world, Little Fish’s Opposites, like other books in Cousins’ Little Fish series, offers a child-pleasing way to build early language and cognitive skills. (PreS Up) 

​A Mischief of Mice. Christie Matheson. (2024). Sourcebooks Jabberwocky.
Christie Matheson’s picture book mystery is brimming with an array of collective nouns for animals and watercolor illustrations that capture the enchanting details of a woodland in the fall. The mystery begins when a mischief of mice suddenly disappears, sparking concern among a scurry of squirrels, who worry that another group of animals  such as a skulk of foxes or a parliament of owls, might be responsible for their disappearance. Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, the squirrels embark on a journey through the woods, questioning various animal groups in hopes of finding clues. It is not until the squirrels encounter a sleuth of bears which cleverly points out a clue that they crack the case and locate the missing mice. Young readers will enjoy exploring the appended “Collection of Collective Nouns” section with interesting facts about the 12 animal groups in the story.  (PreK-Gr 2) 

​On Powwow Day. Traci Sorell. Illus. by Madelyn Goodnight. (2024). Charlesbridge.
Traci Sorell, a member of the Cherokee Nation, and Madelyn Goodnight, from the Chickasaw Nation, beautifully capture the energy and spirit of a Powwow Day in this interactive counting board book. Young readers are drawn into the vibrant colors and sounds of the celebration through vivid imagery and rhythmic onomatopoeia as they count from one to ten and are prompted to look for specific visual elements. For example, 2 “Two drumsticks beat on the family drum. BAM! BAM! Which part is bright orange?” Consider pairing this counting book with Sorrell and Goodnight’s Powwow Day (2022), the heartwarming picture book about the healing power of a family’s participation in this annual event celebrating Indigenous heritage and community that inspired this board book. (PreS Up) 

​Shapes (Hello Hello). Brendan Wenzel. (2024). Chronicle.
In this Hello Hello board book, Brendan Wenzel introduces 46 different animals, including many classified as near threatened, vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered, cleverly depicted within shapes. He uses illustrations, created with a vibrant mix of cut paper, colored pencil, oil pastel, marker, and digital techniques, and simple text (for example, “Hello tree frogs in a TRIANGLE,” “Hello servals in a CIRCLE,” and “Hello parrots in a PEAR,”) to engage readers in a visually striking way to provide a dual learning experience as readers not only become familiar with the names of these animals but also with different shapes. As in other books in the series, the underlying message of the book is one of awareness and connection. In the author's note, readers are encouraged to simply "get to know" these animals and say "hello," fostering a sense of care and responsibility to ensure these creatures remain with us for generations to come. (PreS Up) 

​Chelsey Bahlmann Bollinger and Victoria Pennington
The playful storytelling approach of the books reviewed in this column make learning concepts such as numbers, colors, shapes, opposites, seasons of the year, and days of the week fun for preschool-age children. Each book holds the promise of an engaging shared experience when read aloud one on one or with a group of children at storytime. 

​A Beautiful House for Birds (Storytelling Math). Grace Lin. (2023). Charlesbridge.
In Grace Lin’s interactive, pattern-focused board book, a young Black girl named Olivia wants to paint a beautiful house for birds. She plans to start with painting the roof of a small wooden birdhouse. “How should I paint it?” She decides to paint a two-color pattern of pink and green stripes. As Olivia is painting her pattern, she gets distracted by a couple of birds. “Oh hello, birds.” Accidentally painting a blue stripe alters her pattern to green, pink, green, pink, blue. The back matter includes an ”Exploring the Math” note about expanding a child’s understanding of patterns and activities to involve children in making patterns using movement, words, and drawings.
—CBB

​In Between. April Pulley Sayre (with Jeff Sayre). (2023). Beach Lane.
 “Every creature / on Earth / at times / finds / itself / in / between.” With a poetic text and beautiful close-up photographs of animals in their natural habitats, photo-illustrator and writer April Pulley Sayre explores the concept of in between. “In between meals. / In between trips. / In between homes.” Animals (mammals, birds, reptiles. amphibians, spiders, and insects) find themselves between life stages, movements and transformations and in almost-but-not yet situations. “Almost landed, / but not yet. // Almost asleep, but not yet. // Almost ready, / but not yet / living on one’s own.” Younger children will enjoy looking at the portraits of the animals and may be interested in learning their names; older children may be interested in talking about the concept of in between in the lives of humans and their own in-between times.
—VP

​Kitty & Cat: Opposites Attract. Mirka Hokkanen. (2023). Candlewick.
Learning opposites will be fun reading Mirka Hokkanen’s picture book story told entirely through opposites such as old-new, big-little, and grumpy-happy and expressive digital artwork that focuses on the differences between a kitten and a cat as Kitty is brought home. For example, playful Kitty is energetic while Cat is exhausted and just wants to be left alone to nap. Hokkanen emphasizes the emotions of each cat through their facial expressions in this humorous picture book that ends with Kitty and Cat cuddling together. A final illustration suggesting the two felines soon will be joined by a puppy will leave readers eager for the sequel, Kitty and Cat: Bent Out of Shape, out in November 2023.
—CBB

​Noni the Pony Counts to a Million (Noni the Pony #4). Alison Lester. (2023). Beach Lane.
“Noni the pony stands under one tree . . . / and watches her two friends dance by the sea.” Young children will enjoy traveling through the countryside with Noni and her pals, Dave Dog and Coco the Cat, on a glorious summer day and counting the animals they encounter—from three hens to ten ladybird beetles. With her text of rhyming couplets and colorful, detailed illustrations, Australian author-illustrator Alison Lester continues this latest Noni the Pony story by introducing the more challenging numerical concepts of dozens, hundreds, thousands, and millions and ends with Noni and her pals sleeping under millions of stars. Young children will also enjoy the three earlier books in the series, Noni the Pony (2012), Noni the Pony Goes to the Beach (2015), and Noni the Pony Rescues a Joey (2019).
—VP

One Tiny Treefrog: A Countdown to Survival. Tony Piedra & Mackenzie Joy. (2023). Candlewick.
This captivating counting book offers children a gentle lesson on survival realities in the natural world as it presents the life cycle of the red-eyed treefrog. The countdown to survival begins with a cluster of ten eggs on a leaf in the Costa Rican rainforest. “Ten tiny tadpoles / grow in their egg.” Nine of the tiny tadpoles live and wiggle free to drop into the water below as one gets scooped up by a wasp. In the water, the number of survivors dwindle as predators pluck off the metamorphizing tadpoles one by one until only one tadpole remains to become an adult. “Zero tiny tadpoles. / One tiny treefrog.” The extensive back matter includes information about the red-eye treefrog and the other species of animals pictured and identified by their common and scientific names on the pages of the book and a bibliography.
—VP

​One, Two, Three!: A Happy Counting Book. Sandra Boynton. (2023). Boynton Bookworks.
In this decidedly happy board book with a die-cut front cover featuring three hippos, Sandra Boynton’s rhyming text invites young children to count how many of her lovable animal characters are enjoying activities such as tea time, a car ride, acting in a play, and ballet dancing. “ONE is good for a quite walk. / TWO is right for a quiet walk. // THREE is nice for having tea / or for counting ONE TWO THREE.” Barnyard animals such as ducks and pigs play along with elephants, rhinos, and other animals to show how many are just right for each activity include a marching band of animals parades by. “TEN makes a celebration / LOUD!LOUD!LOUD!” Adults will appreciate the peacefulness of the ending: “And ONE is WONDERFUL after a crowd.”
—VP

​Rainbow Days. Margaret Hamilton. Illus. by Anna Pignataro. (2023). Kane Miller.
The seven days of the week are paired with the seven colors of the rainbow in Rainbow Days with Margaret Hamilton’s simple, rhyming text and Anna Pignataro’s softly colored mixed-media illustrations. Readers will enjoy following the day-by-day activities of a young child and their family and pets throughout the week. For example, “Saturday with violets / And thread for sewing through / To make my gran a violet crown / That tells her ‘I love you.’” At the end of this cheerful and gentle book, there is a cameo appearance of Hamilton and Pignataro’s B Is for Bedtime (2015), which would be another cozy choice for one-on-one bedtime reading.
—VP

Some of These Are Snails. Carter Higgins. (2023). Chronicle.
With cut and collaged hand-painted paper images assembled digitally, Carter Higgins uses shape, color, and size to present patterns in a quirky and captivating way. The simple, rhythmic chant-like text focuses the attention of young readers on examining the images set against a white background. Readers are invited to respond to questions: “can you sort by color? / can you sort by size? / can you sort by shape or find the animals with eyes?” Interaction continues with more challenging pages to examine and questions to answer such as “who’s stripiest? / who’s spottiest / who’s wiggly wigglier wiggliest?” Readers are also encouraged to look closely at the images to see which  are shapes and which are animals. Conversations are sure to be lively with this interactive picture book.
—CBB

Together with You. Patricia Toht. Illus. by Jarvis. (2023). Candlewick.
The story of the shared experiences of a young boy and his grandmother through the seasons of the year is presented through Patricia Toht’s rhyming text, told from the perspective of the boy, and Jarvis’s colorful digital artwork. Readers learn about how the two get dressed for the weather and the activities they enjoy during each season. For example, in autumn, the boy zips up his fleece jacket while his grandmother pulls on her sweater, he covers his ears and she holds onto her hat as they walk in the wind, they fly a kite, and then enjoy a stroll hand in hand. The warm, cozy relationship of grandson and grandmother as they spend time together is clearly felt as the picture book ends. “For no matter the weather, / whatever we do, / every day’s better . . . // together with you.”
—CBB

Where Are the Eggs? (Storytelling Math). Grace Lin. (2023). Charlesbridge.
Mei’s chickens have laid eggs in the yard. “Where could the eggs be?” Mei invites the reader to help her find the eggs on the pages of this interactive board book as she spots and describes the location of each egg in relation to an object in the yard. For example, one egg is next to the watering can and another egg is on top of an upturned wheelbarrow. In rereading the story, youngsters will enjoy pointing out the eggs and using position words to describe their locations. The back matter provides a note on exploring the math of spatial relations and some “Try This!” activities.
—CBB

​Chelsey Bahlmann Bollinger is an associate professor in the Early, Elementary, and Reading Department at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and a mom to two young readers. Victoria Pennington is a second year PhD student in the Literacy, Language and Culture program at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina, and a mom to two young readers.