1, 2, 3, Go! by Huy Voun Lee

From the Publisher

A colorful, playful counting book that introduces young children to Chinese characters and action words.

One little girl catches a butterfly. Two small swimmers stomp in puddles. Three young musicians bang their drums. The children in this action-packed counting book jump, dance, and run through the numbers from one to ten. 1, 2, 3, Go! is an exciting introduction to the simplest and most logical of the beautiful picture-words that are used in written Chinese.

Bright colors and bold shapes make the logic behind the picture-words clear. Readers learn that the characters for words such as "push" and "carry," which are actions that involve the use of hands, include the basic character for "hand." And the picture words for actions done with the feet, such as kicking and dancing, all include the basic character for "foot."

In her delicate cut-paper artwork Huy Voun Lee, the author and illustrator of three other highly-acclaimed books on Chinese character writing, has captured all the joy and energy of children at play.

Publishers Weekly

Lee's (At the Beach; In the Snow) word and number primer has all the festive ebullience of a Chinese New Year's dragon. Each cream-colored, double-page spread serves as a backdrop for elegant, boldly-colored cut paper figures, a punchy number-verb combination and the appropriate Chinese characters. For "Three hit," a trio of children in ethnic costumes play drums beneath the graceful boughs of a tree; for "Nine kick," a band of leaping, shouting, red-belted martial arts students punch the air with their legs. Old and new blend subtly and gracefully: in most spreads, the children wear modern-day clothes, but occasionally their stylized expressions and poses (especially in the spread for "Six pull," which shows a group attempting to land a huge fish) evoke a much older and exotic visual tradition. For older children, the introductory pages offer a Mandarin Chinese pronunciation guide and some fascinating etymology: for example, Lee explains that the written Chinese for the words "kick," "run" and "jump" are all based on the basic character for "foot." Youngsters will love finding the hidden words within words and trying their hand at writing them. Ages 4-9. (Jan.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Children's Literature

A simple counting book from one to ten offers an introduction to Chinese characters and numbers. Children are involved in a different activity on each double page, with the text consisting of only the number and the verb. The collage cut-paper illustrations of the busy children, done in a traditional art medium, are attractively simple. The author offers information about Chinese characters and how they combine to form meaningful related words. There is also a summary of the characters introduced with pronunciation guide. 2000, Henry Holt. Ages 4 to 8. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Parenting - Leonard S. Marcus

Vibrant cut-paper collages give preschoolers beguiling glimpses of Chinese children's pastimes-plus an occasion for counting out loud. Kids are shown the Chinese characters for the numbers one to ten and for verbs.

Kirkus Reviews

Lee (In the Park, 1998, etc.) continues her successful series on beginning Chinese characters with a fourth volume, this time a counting book with children's movements (of hands or feet) providing the action. The format is simple and elegant: each double-page spread has a number word and a verb paired in a short two-word sentence. ("One catches.") The Chinese characters and English translations are at the side of the right-hand page, separated from the illustration with a pinked-edge, colored border. Lee's striking paper-cut illustrations show Asian children in action: hitting drums, carrying a lion kite, kicking their legs in kung fu class. An author's note explains how Chinese characters are formed, and lists of the action words and counting words are also included along with basic pronunciations in Mandarin Chinese. This is a book with many uses: a simple counting book for preschool children (with an added multicultural facet); an introduction to a few basic Chinese characters; an easy reader with a simple, patterned text and exact picture-to-text match; or an ESL book for Chinese-speaking children. It's never too early for children to learn that we are all part of the global village, where all children love to play in similar ways, but not all children speak (or read) in the same way. Hand this beautifully designed book to a child (or teacher) in time for the Chinese New Year. (Picture book. 3-8)

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