10 Dogs
by Emily Gravett; illus. by the author
Preschool    Boxer Books    32 pp.
9/23    9781914912597    $16.99

Readers can expect much more than just a counting book in Gravett’s (10 Cats, rev. 5/23) latest: it’s also a delightful mathematical puzzler for preschoolers. In the opening spread (one of only two moments of peace), ten sausages sit on a table, and ten dogs, licking their lips, stand around it. The book does, indeed, count down; with the exception of the first spread, the recto of each goes from nine dogs to one (with the finale hinting at zero). But how readers get to zero is where the engaging adventure with math comes into play. For instance, on the second spread, in which chaos immediately ensues, one dog grabs all the sausages, leaving “9 dogs with none.” Next, “2 dogs each with half of them, 8 dogs wanting some.” And so it goes, Gravett prompting viewers to look carefully at her detailed illustrations to see the deductions in action. Her fine-lined, brightly colored images of ten distinctive canines convey much humor as the pups try to snatch sausages and keep the others away; in the “3” spread, for example, “7 dogs hide sausages” and “3 dogs hunt around.” Expect big laughs from preschoolers, particularly those who are dog fans. The dogs topple furniture and put the chairs and the polka-dotted tablecloth to creative use—but, in the end, decide to share. A doggone good adventure.

From the November/December 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.