One Whole Bunch

One Whole Bunch is a bright, beautiful counting book about a boy collecting flowers for his mother. Told in the opposite direction of most counting books, this story starts with a boy holding “TEN stems of lavender” and counting his way down to “one whole bunch” of flowers which he has lovingly gathered for his mother. This imaginative board book is sure to delight children with its simplicity and bright colours while being a sweet story of affection and thoughtfulness that parents are sure to appreciate as well.

The culturally ambiguous, freckle-faced boy picks a wide range of flowers, including lavender, dandelions, daisies, sweet peas, tidy tips, violets, forget-me-nots, peonies, and tulips throughout the story. Each flower and number has its own dedicated two-page spread where the number is highlighted by capitalizing the number spelled out in word form (unfortunately, there are no numerical representations of 10-1). In addition to the boy, the number, and flowers, there is also a curious and active lady bug that is seen on each of the two-page spreads that would be well- utilized by a parent or teacher in a game of search and find. The variety of flowers described in this story could also be used as a great jumping off point for exploring flowers, plants, and even bugs in the great outdoors.

The bright and colourful illustrations are made using simple shapes in an almost collage-like style but have added depth and texture with the use of dots and shadows. Covered in a bright yellow binding and taller than your average board book, One Whole Bunch is sure to stand out on any book shelf!