Counting on Community

by Innosanto Nagara

Counting on Community is Innosanta Nagara's follow-up to his hit ABC book, A is for Activist. Counting up from one stuffed piñata to ten hefty hens—and always counting on each other—children are encouraged to recognize the value of their community, the joys inherent in healthy eco-friendly activities, and the agency they posses to make change. A broad and inspiring vision of diversity is told through stories in words and pictures. And of course, there is a duck to find on every page!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Counting, Social Justice, Poetry, Mathematics, Activism

24 pages, Board book

First published September 15, 2015

About the author

Innosanto Nagara is originally from Indonesia, but moved to the US in 1988 to study zoology and philosophy at UC Davis. Upon graduation, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he worked as a graphic designer for a range of social change organizations, before founding the Design Action Collective, a worker-owned cooperative design studio in Oakland, California, that is dedicated to "serving the Movement." Inno lives in a cohousing community in Oakland where his child is the youngest of eight children to be born into the household, so he has "studied" a lot of children's books over the past twelve years. A is for Activist was Inno's first book. It has now been adapted into Spanish by Martha Gonzalez, and translated into Swedish. Following the success of A is for Activist, Inno wrote and illustrated a follow-up board book, Counting on Community (2015). His third book, My Night in the Planetarium, is a picture book about "the art of resistance".

Reviews

[Jae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish it rhymed but we can radicalize our babies without verse.

[Anna Fillmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an unusual book for young children. Unusual in how authentically diverse it is. The illustrations conjure up contemporary city neighborhoods, filled with contemporary people wearing clothes and doing things that city kids experience - block parties complete with portable basketball hoops and potluck, pinatas in a park, playing soccer on a paved surface, gardening in a social environment, chalking the sidewalk, riding bikes and scooters in a parking lot, chickens (oh yes, city immigrant neighborhoods are full of chickens whether it is legal or not) and a protest march. This image is particularly relevant with the amount of Black Lives Matter inspired protests over the last couple of years. It is a nice nod to the reality that the bulk of people represented in this board book are not moneyed or hold positions of power, and can best exercise a voice in how our country is run by building and maintaining social organizations.

[Jj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great idea here--so I definitely give it a thumbs-up for getting a new idea into board book format! But unfortunately, the execution is uneven. Illustrations are complex and better suited for a picture book format. The text is somewhat labored and clunky. I like how it focuses on small situations and actions, though--that is a great way to get the concept of community across to a young audience. I look forward to reading more works by this author.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great follow up to A is for Activist, this counting book depicts in vibrant colors typical urban neighborhood activities, including working in community gardens and a potluck meal. Racial and ethnic diversity is celebrated throughout.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great counting book with colorful artwork of diverse people. I purchased A is for Activist for my niece which is by the same author and loved it. This one is for her baby brother. So happy to instill the love of reading and to promote activism and diversity in my little ones.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe I need a shelf for propaganda? In a good way? Or just overlapping with "never gonna reread" to indicate the propaganda I didn't like?

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

One star off for questionable scansion, otherwise a suitable entry for hippie toddlers.

[Library Lady Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple but powerful board book about the benefits of community. Setting a good baseline.

[Ben Truong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Counting on Community is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Innosanto Nagara to inform the next generation the importance of community and to depend and be dependable in one's community by using numbers from one to ten to illustrate this point. This is a sequel to A is for Activist .

Nagara's text is poetic having rhyming stanzas for every two numbers, while some rhyming couplets felt flat, it was nevertheless brilliantly written. His art is also beautifully rendered and aided and complimented the text very well. Furthermore, finding the ducks is also a fun sub-plot to the book.

The premise of the story, beside teaching kids to count to ten, is about a community coming together for a block party. Through the numbers it encourages children to recognize the value of their community, the joys in healthy eco-friendly activities, and the power they possess to make change. I also like the clever pun in the title – to count (i.e., to depend) on your community.

All in all, Count on Community is a wonderful children's book that shows the importance of community togetherness while teaching to count from one to ten.

[Elizabeth]

I liked this a lot more than A Is For Activist by the same author. Largely because it's trying to do a lot less. It's only counting to 10 and only has one line per number (as opposed to the 3, 4, and more, line sections for many of the letters in the alphabet book).

I like the way it gently introduces ideas like urban farming but not every page is capital-A Activisty -- there's also sidewalk chalk and making music. (I did cringe at the "NO H8" t-shirt in the picket sign illustration because I'm not fan of the "I changed my profile picture in solidarity" type of activism -- though Googling reminded me that it's FCKH8 which is the hella problematic org, not NO H8.)

Not really sure what's up with "ten hefty hens" as I thought chickens were the farm bird that most urbanites had, but *shrug*

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this even better than A is for Activist. Nagara does a great job of showcasing familiar sights to kids in vibrant urban communities. And there's a duck hidden on every page! My daughter's favorite page is page nine -- nine dishes at a potluck! Yum!

[Bonnie Tesch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this much better than the author's previous work, A is for Activism. I feel like this is a more age appropriate "story," and definitely a simpler vocabulary.

[Noreen Zayna Barlas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book on community. It is colorful and inclusive.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely social justice oriented celebration of community as a counting book!!!

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

Community and inclusion text with beautiful illustrations. "I can count on you, and you can count on me!"

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a board book that touches on counting and different things in the community. Read a certain way, it has the potential to be very entertaining to little ones.

[Selena Sheehy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Counting on Community
Author: Innosanto Nagara
Illustrator: Innosanto Nagara
Genre:
Theme(s): Community, Diversity, Counting
Opening line/sentence: “Living in community, it’s a lot of FUN! Let’s count the ways. Let’s start with ONE.”
Brief Book Summary: The story discusses community and the diversity within many communities. The author uses counting to discuss the multiple different aspects in each community and finishes the story with the importance in counting on each other in the community.
Response to Two Professional Reviews (3-4 sentences in your own words):
Tell Me Framework (4 sentences in your own words):
Like(s): I enjoy the diversity included in this community, every single person is different.
Dislike(s): I dislike the style of art used in the illustration.
Patterns(s): The story is told through numbers and counting up.
Puzzle(s): Why did they include the hens?
Consideration of Instructional Application (3-4 sentences in your own words):
With the ideas of this story, diversity is expressed through the work of counting. Counting up to something exciting at the end. Each number corresponds to a diverse aspect of each family in the community.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is for a community that lives and shares and farms together. Focus is more on "commune" than community as most people mean it.

Counting 1 to 10 with words. (The numeral is hidden on each page, so it's more of a "where's Waldo?" hunt for them. And the #8 is on a shirt that says No H8, but part of the H is hidden so it looks like 48, which is confusing)

There is also a duck on every page to find. Not 100% sure where it is on the #2 page -- think maybe it's flying?

For some of the pictures, the items to count are not clear.

For example, for 5 pieces of chalk there are 5 pieces lying there but then kids are drawing with chalk, too.
And I (as an adult) had a hard time distinguishing 10 hens.

There are more than 2 kids on the 2 neighbor friends page.

Didn't love that 7 was bikes and scooters and helmets to count together. (And there are other bikes on the page)

8 is picket signs, but they're white and one man's shirt is white (nothing else is white), so that confuses the counting a good bit.

My favorite picture is 9 tasty dishes.

[Kristen LeBlanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Innosanto Nagara has done it again!! "Counting on Community" is written and illustrated by Nagara and is also excellently written with rhythmic lines. Unlike his alphabet book, "A is for Activist," Nagara uses counting to show how "his community" is special and asks what the reader's community has that makes it unique, "So what can you count in your community? …I can count on you and you can count on me!"

"One piñata, Two neighbors play, Three farmers, etc." are just some examples conveyed in "Counting Community." This book is visually appealing, simplistic but relatable in textual content and can easily be adapted so that any educator can have their students create their own community with the numbers one through ten. If I were to use this in my classroom, I would incorporate it into a lesson with "An ABC of Equality" and "A is for Activist" to encourage the learning of the alphabet and counting of numbers through the relatability of theses books to real world issues in society, today.

[Julia Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's a potentially controversial statement: If you're picking just one Innosanto Nagara book (why?), I think this one is a way better choice for tiny babies than A is for Activist, which is the one you see on all the "gifts for social justice babies" listicles. The rhythm has a fun singsong quality, there's a duck AND a number hidden on every page, and it's one I can easily recite from memory when we're stuck in traffic and I can't think of a fun song to sing. Great for city kids, and great for everywhere-else kids whose bookshelves are full of farm and sea animals but not enough juicy-colored, vibrant urban life.

(Thanks, Emily and Ron, for gifting this to us!)

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very much focused on community in the sense of who you live near.

The text uses words for the numbers; the numeral is hidden on each page (sometimes well-hidden). There's also a duck hiding (or not-really-hiding) on each page.

It was mostly clear what to count, but it's not great in that sense -- more chalk than the five named pieces on the 5 page, more scooters and helmets than the seven scooters, bikes, and helmets named on the 7 page, and the 10 hens/"hens" are hard to count.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This counting book introduces children to concepts associated with living in a community. While I like the concept, I feel like many of the words in the book are a bit complicated for young children and it doesn't explain what they mean. That being said, it is great to see a picture book about community and the illustrations are well done.

[Ms. Arca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is his best board book (better than the alphabet activist book). This is the one to buy all your little baby friends!

Such a fan of his work, Innosanto is rocking and I hope he keeps it up!! Gorgeous art, lovely message, kid accesible.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captures a feeling of urban community in a way that even the youngest readers can understand. Some of the writing is a little clunky, and I think the pictures would be better suited to a larger format than a board book, but a great concept!

[Andrés · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the unusual-for-board-books, but common-for-everyday-community-living features. I wanted to spend time on each page, but that interrupted the rhymes, which carried over pages. Other counting books have crisper illustrations for young counters.

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

kids liked this
short and sweet

recommended

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable counting book that celebrates growing up in a diverse community. Beautiful illustrations -- look out for the duck!

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful and timely, an important contribution to social justice lit for the youngest set. A celebration of community, activism, and sticking up for each other.

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic, inclusive, community-focused board book. Will be my new go-to counting concept board book for starting new baby library collections!

[Maeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet concept book that lists all the ways that communities are awesome.