West Coast 123s

West Coast 123s is a clever concept book which uses locations from around coastal British Columbia to explore sequential counting from 1-20. With most counting books for this age group focusing on numbers 1-10, the expansion this book offers makes it a welcome addition to any book collection intended for young children. Each page features the numeral (in large, colourful font), the name of the coastal location (written vertically on the side), the number statement (always beginning with the numerical word), and a corresponding image. As demonstrated by the excerpt above, each simple statement has the power to capture the imagination and plant an image in one’s mind.

As for the illustrations, Jocey Asnong uses a true west coast colour palette throughout the book, including many shades of blue, green, grey, brown, and purple. Both the landscape and the counting figures share the spotlight in this book. Asnong gives the book a sense of whimsy by including such elements as scuba diving cats, sunglass-wearing seals, and surfboard-riding starfish, to name just a few. These embedded aspects will keep the kids looking at each page with a sharp eye.

I was impressed with the attention to detail regarding the colour coordination of the numerals on each page with the full-page of numerals (1-20) at the end of the book. I only wish that there had also been a map of coastal BC provided on the one blank (full blue) page at the end. While many of the coastal locations were familiar to me (as a resident of Vancouver Island), there are still places in BC I have yet to explore. Likewise, for those readers living in other parts of Canada, I’m sure a simple, labeled map of the featured west coast locations would be welcome. However, the book can still be whole-heartedly enjoyed with or without knowing the locations of the illustrations; perhaps, this may be why the name of each location is written on the side of each page, instead of prominently at the top. While 19 of the location names were written bottom to top along the side, the final location name was reversed. I actually preferred the visual reading experience of the final page (i.e. reading the name top to bottom on the right-hand page), but the discrepancy from the rest of the right-hand pages of the book made me wonder if it was an error or an indication of finality.

Some BC friends of mine have independently raved about this book to me. Thus, for many, it rings true – and isn’t that the goal of literature, to reflect aspects of one’s readers? West Coast 123s makes the perfect, no-brainer gift for any resident of British Columbia and a lovely piece of BC to treasure for those living elsewhere. This book deserves a place on the bookshelf in the home, daycare, preschool, library, or classroom. Not only does it provide educational content with the sequential counting, but it also delivers a delightful slice of regional content.