Children’s picture book about a pony and counting
This was a gift for my toddler at her first birthday party and has become part of a growing collection by this author.
“Noni the Pony Counts to a Million” by Alison Lester is a children’s picture book part of a series about a skewbald pony called Noni. In this book, Noni interacts with and observes a range of other animals in increasing numbers until the numbers get so big they are impossible to count.
This is a lovely little book with Lester’s signature gentle illustration style and soft colours. The counting is incorporated in a natural way, and each number is spelled out in a different colour to the other black text to help it stand out. The book prompts the readers to count the animals, and in the later pages, when it is things like spots, and cars, and stars being counted, my toddler especially enjoys me tapping on the page with my fingernails to illustrate how many there are.
I think though this probably isn’t my favourite of Lester’s books. On some pages, the things you are supposed to be counting aren’t as obvious as other books (e.g. two friends being a cat and a dog, or Noni mixed up between four similarly shaped cows) and there’s a particular line I always trip over:
…as six dusky wood-swallows swoop through the sky.
Nevertheless, the real critic (my toddler) very much enjoys this book and asks for it often.
