Countdown with Milo and Mouse, by Mike Austin

Countdown with Milo and Mouse
(The Adventures of Milo and Mouse)
Author: Mike Austin
Publisher: Blue Apple Books
Publication Date: May 22, 2012
Buy Now on Amazon.com
Buy Now on Amazon.ca

This spaceship-themed counting book is cute and fun, though the illustrations are a bit busy at times, making it a bit hard to read. Other than that, it's fantastic. I particularly liked how the counting was used in two different practical ways--first, as a countdown for the rocket ship, and then again as a number of steps the rocket ship takes (first they visit the moon, etc.). So many counting books for preschoolers simply showcase quantitative numbering (one duck, two dogs, three glasses of milk, etc.) which is fine, but it's nice to see other uses for numbers and counting in a picture book. After I read this with my three-year-old, I noticed her going around the house saying, "First, I'm going to get a book. Two, I'm going to read the book. Three, I'm gonna put the book away. Four, I'm gonna get another book!" Awesome!

You May Also Like:

What's Out There?: A Book about Space

by Lynn Wilson (illustrated by Paige Billin-Frye)

What Do the Fairies Do With All Those Teeth? 

by Michel Luppens (illustrated by Philippe Beha)

Dinosaur Countdown

by Nicholas Oldland

One Moose, Twenty Mice

by Clare Beaton

Canada 123 

by Kim Bellefontaine (illustrated by Per-Henrik Gurth)

 Disclaimer: I received a digital galley of this book free from Blue Apple Books through Edelweiss (Above the Tree Line). I was asked to write an honest review, though not necessarily a favourable one. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.