Review| One By Kathryn Otoshi

About 2 years ago, my husband purchased a copy of “One” by Kathryn Otoshi at a thrift store. I had no idea what to think initially. My husband often come home with loads of thrift store books and it is a mixed bag. But when I read “One” to my son, who was then only two years old, I knew that it was special.

“One” isn’t just a book about numbers.

But it is about numbers. Actually, my son learned to recognize numbers 1-10 from Kathryn Otoshi’s books.

“One” isn’t just a book about colors.

But it is about colors. Colors are the main characters, and my son recognized the colors reading the book, which kept him interested.

“One” is a story about standing up to Bullies.

Blue get’s teased by Red and nobody stands up for him until One comes along. One isn’t afraid to stand up to Red, and soon the other colors follow suit.

The illustrations in the book are simple water color paintings for numbers and colored dots, and yet somehow emotion seems to come through on every page.

To this day, “One” is one of my favorite picture books.

The message is simple and timeless. The book has educational elements (numbers, colors, etc) that go beyond simply talking about bullies or friendship, and most importantly, my son loves this book. He always wants to read it at bedtime.

I am absolutely thrilled to have Kathryn Otoshi as the Featured Author this month, and look forward to sharing more of her work with all of you.

For more about Kathryn Otoshi and her books, visit www.kokidsbooks.com.