Review - Kiss By Kiss/Ocêtôwina: A Counting Book For Families

Kiss By Kiss/Ocêtôwina: A Counting Book For Families
by Richard Van Camp
translated by Mary Cardinal Collins
Date: 2018
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 26
Format: e-book
Source: library

One kiss, two kiss, three kiss, four! So many kisses and so many more. From bestselling author Richard Van Camp comes a delightful counting book that honors families and can be used to praise your little ones as they learn to count. Ten kisses from your sweet baby might not be enough to get you through this adorable book, so you'll just have to read it over and over!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is another of those books that has a very simple rhyming text accompanied by stock photos. While the selection of photos is good, and toddlers will probably like looking at the pictures, I have a feeling this book--as it was intended to be read--will have a fairly small audience. Each page features the English text accompanied by translations in Plains Cree. Unfortunately, aside from the numbers one through ten (and the word "kiss") at the beginning, there are no instructions on pronunciation. Non-native speakers of the Plains Cree language are going to have a really tough time. I suppose one could tease out most of the pronunciation by using the numbers at the beginning, but this would mean that whoever's reading the book would have to do a lot of preparation beforehand (and even then, they might not get it right).

So, while this would be a great book for kids who are being taught to speak Plains Cree by someone who already knows the language, it's probably going to have limited use for most other readers. Kids can look at the pictures, sure. But there are other counting books with better text out there.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: 3/5
Writing: 2/5
Illustrations: 2/5
Originality: 2/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.29 out of 5