Children’s books these days are amazing, with great stories and awesome illustrations. And Beth Rand of Peaks Island has mastered both.
Beth’s new book, 1 – 2 – 3 Gulls, published by Islandport Press,is a “counting book.” That makes it perfect for my 2 and 4 year old granddaughters (don’t tell them because we’ll probably give them the book for Christmas).
From 1 to 10, Beth illustrates each number. I liked them all, my favorite being the five mugs of cocoa under blue skies. The 10 snowballs in the fight are also entertaining. And after they get to the number 10, Beth takes the kids right to fifty snowflakes and 100 stars. Our four-year-old granddaughter can actually count to 100, so she’ll be really focused on counting each and every one of those stars.
I think young kids of all ages will love this book.
Seagulls are featured in each illustration and they are very funny. At the end of the book, the gulls fall asleep on a moonlit night.
And I appreciated this, on the back cover: Enjoying winter is as easy as 1, 2, 3! Don’t we wish!
As a kid Beth, whose dad was a Navy dentist, lived in quite a few places including Sicily. But once she graduated from the University of Maine, this has been her home. She’s a self-taught illustrator, which really amazes me.