City 123

May 1, 2005
PreS-K -An excellent, well-constructed concept book. Outstanding color photographs invite children to count skyscrapers, taxis, firefighters' boots, and other familiar objects around the city. The superb pictures feature not only the required number of items, but the corresponding numeral as well. Multiple representations of each number make this book an excellent teaching tool and show children that numbers are all around them. For example, the number two is shown on the left-hand page as a numeral, as a word, and represented by two dots, and its placement is highlighted in red in a series of numbers from 1 to 10. The opposite page has a photograph with two taxis in the background and a yellow sign with the number two in the foreground. Additional counting practice is possible on the full spreads that are interspersed throughout, showing the numerals in succession, such as an elevator with eight floors, and a running track with lanes labeled 1 through 6. Children will thoroughly enjoy this first-rate counting book. -"Melinda Piehler, Sawgrass Elementary School, Sunrise, FL"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2005
PreS-K. In a dynamic counting book, a partner to Milich's " The City ABC Book" (2000), great color photos celebrate the city and the numbers 1 to 10, from 1 boy on the busy sidewalk, 2 yellow taxicabs, and 3 wheels on a tanker truck, to a sky view of 7 tall buildings, and, finally, 10 French fries on a plate. Opposite each clear, gorgeous picture are the numbers 1-10, with the appropriate numeral highlighted in red, as well as big dots for children to count and each number spelled out in large, clear letters. In the style of Tana Hoban's concept books, this will show young children that numbers are part of everything they see and what they do.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2005
Each left-hand page shows the featured number spelled out underneath ten numerals. The clean, well-composed photos on the right-hand pages show the expected, e.g., a subway platform labeled four. But on closer inspection, the photo also shows four red subway doors. Milich has created a book that is even more child-friendly than his previous concept books ( "City Signs " and "City Colors" ).

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2005
At first glance, Milich's latest photographic concept book seems to follow the same pattern as City Signs (rev. 1/03) and City Colors: urban-set color photos whose simplicity encourages the viewer to read the sign or name the color. But City 1 2 3, covering the numbers from one to ten, breaks the pattern by adding some welcome new elements. Each left-hand page shows the featured number spelled out underneath all ten numerals, which appear at the top. The clean, well-composed photos on the right-hand pages show what we would expect: a white truck with the number three on the gas tank, a subway platform labeled four. But on closer inspection, we see that the photo itself shows exactly three truck wheels, four red subway doors, and so on. Inserted between a few spreads are double-page photos showing a sequence of numbers (in an elevator, under mailboxes), providing a review of the numbers covered thus far. By adding a bit of humor and a sense of context, Milich has created a book that is even more child-friendly than his previous concept books, and just as handsome.

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)