Customer Reviews

One Was Johnny: A Counting Book

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great book with one to ten -- unlike many, its forwards and backwards. The illustrations are classic Sendak -- a kooky little kid, and crazy animal friends. Nine arrive, and to get back to his solitude, Johnny counts backwards to make them leave. There are a lot of cute counting books out there, but this one has a twist no one else has picked up. The story line is nonsensical enough to hold interest for a long time.

Unlike so many dull counting books (and their companion dull alphabet books), this book has a quirky attitude all its own. "One" shows Johnny happy alone, reading a book; as we count upward, a number of raucous animals and even a robber invade his home. We start to count down when Johnny threatens his uninvited guests, "I'm going to count backwards and when I am through/If this house isn't empty, I'll eat all of you!" My 16-month-old son loves it & so do I. I wish they made this in board book form.

I love this book. It is small and it is quintessential Sendak. My grandson loves the Carol King record "Really Rosie" and I was thrilled to be able to buy three of the books that coordinate with the C.D. that includes "One Was Johnny". The illustrations are darling, and we love to sing the whole book. I recently ordered two additional sets of this book along with "Pierre" and "Alligators All Around". They're all delightful.

I grew up reading these Sendak books, and watching the Really Rosie movie that incorporates them, and love them. My son loves them too. I do however, miss the hard cover version. The paperbacks seem kind of flimsy and it takes two hands to keep the pages open.

My daughter who is 2 absolutely loves this book - she brings it to us to read over and over - she knows most of the words already!

I love all the Sendak books (5/5 stars for me). This particular book is a great small size (the way I remembered it when I was young). Not too small, but not too big. However, it is paperback and very flimsy. I wish it was available in hardback (hence the 3/5 stars).

There's not much you can really *do* with counting books. You count up to ten, you count down from ten, and you hope you can make it interesting to the kids reading along at home.

Sendak managed to make it interesting, although a bit weirdly, what with the mail-delivering monkeys and random burglars. The book is short and simple and my younger niece (in kindergarten) liked it a lot, and I suppose that's why it's a classic :)

I'm a fan of most all things Maurice Sendak. These little books provide the lyrics for Carol King's Really Rosie soundtrack which I grew up with.

I guess my only complaint is that these books are so little. They're about 4 x 5" and I wish they were more like 6 x 8". The one good thing about them being so little is that they make perfect travel books. They're a perfectly viable bedtime story but they're tiny enough to take on an airplane or a road trip.

Most importantly, the kids love all the books in this series of 4. This one is great for counting and has a fun rhythm.

This is an original silly counting book, given in rhyme and cumulative verse. For each number up to ten, a different animal or character joins Johnny in his house; when it gets too crowded, he threatens to eat everyone and they leave one by one. Sendak's artwork is delightful, and the slapstick humor and anticipatory drama is very fun. This book may not actually teach children to count unless they memorize it, but it does have the slight advantage of going backwards as well as forwards. The great draw, of course, is the artwork and humor. Not a bad addition to a children's library, although Alfie's 123 is a better choice for actually teaching numbers.

I was initially disappointed at how tiny this book was(as well as Alligators All Around) but they've become favorites since I can carry them in my purse and read them to my grandchild wherever we may be.