Everybody Counts

This book is amazing. The possibilities for using this in class at school, with children of all ages, are endless. There are people to spot, stories to follow and problems to solve on every page. I cannot wait to buy a hardcopy of this book to share. I have already gone back over the book to spot new things. I love it!

This deceptive book actually proves to be one of the deepest, richest things you can buy.  It looks like being an exercise in counting, for each image has one more person in it than the page before, and what with them in bright dynamic colours in a world that's made of flat, pale blue outlines only, we're easily able to see them.  Slowly we see that the captions are suggesting things we can't immediately tell right away about some of the people, whether it be their immediate future, or their current status, or what they might grow up to do.  And slowly it dawns on us that we're seeing the same people over and over again – in particular the VAT man and his son.  People who meet over the art books in the library turn up in the gallery (and other places), where we're asked to predict which character is the award-winning artist we'll end up seeing win an award.  Etc.  Once we've gone over thirty we leap forward in larger gaps, until – well, that would be telling.  But then we get the world's most philosophical Where's Wally puzzle, asking us not only about the miniatures of the people in the book, but about ourselves too.  Finally, a whole key doesn't tell us those solutions, but does tell us so much more about each and every picture we've been poring over beforehand and the people in every one.

The whole book is designed to make us more thoughtful of connections, the similarities and differences between all our stories, and what our expectations about them might be.  So yes, it is an exercise in counting, in thinking about fictional characters, and about following patterns and connecting the dots from one diorama to the next, but it's also so much more.  I'd perhaps buy this for someone learning their numeracy, but the thought that this was solely for that purpose kind of goes out the window early on when we go to a funeral.  I'd certainly buy this for anyone of any age who is keen to instil the bigger questions in the young, and I'd certainly buy this for anyone with a liking for the more quirky, unusual and less well-established ways of telling stories.  For them alone this is a five star purchase.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This book is very unique and will appeal to many people but not all.
The book is many different things - counting from 1 to 7.5 billion, thinking skills - to answer the questions at the back of the book relating to each page. And about learning how everyone is different with different hobbies, fears, worries, interests, and paths in life but that we are all unique. 
I enjoyed this book and found it intetesting and something different.

I loved this book. A where’s Waldo styled book with a ddI worse cast of human beings. Encouraging counting as well as searching and finding. I felt the REAL scenarios were also so beautiful. Not everyone in this book was smiling and happy. Some were sad. Some were anxious. Some were angry. It was a book about the real feelings in the world. Validating not just emotions but diversity.

Truly one of the best children’s books and I cannot wait to get a physical copy in my hands!!

I enjoyed the detail of this book. Children would enjoy the number element to it as a 'maths' story. I loved tracking different characters and making up my mind about certain elements, only to find the answers at the end of the book. It's the sort of book you could read 100 times and spot something different.

EVERYBODY COUNTS by Kristin Roskifte is a very unusual counting book.  The artwork and the premise of the book are both very different and unique - and even a little weird.  Don’t mistake this for a little kids’ counting book, although many kids will LOVE staring at the pictures and figuring out who is doing what. 
Starting with ONE, of course, each page is drawn in blue lines, except for those being counted.  And each page describes the people in the picture in an unexpected way. For example, “Five people in a family. Three of them love reading. One of them is secretly in love.”  There are images we don’t often see in children’s books, like a police line-up and a funeral, but they are all depictions of real life events.  There is so much to look at on each page, especially as the numbers build, and sharp eyes will depict some recurring characters.  At the end, there are questions to answer by looking for specific pictures within the pages.  
Honestly, I think this is a fascinating book for all ages. As a kid, I would have spent hours examining the pictures and figuring out every story - and I think that is the point. EVERYONE COUNTS because everyone has a story, and they are all worth telling.

A wonderfully interconnected seek-and-find picture book for kids. Each page has a beautifully illustrated scene featuring a certain number of people. The bottom of each page shows the number, explains where the scene is, and lists a few whimsical details about some of the characters. The numbers go from 1 - 30, then by fives from 35 - 100, then 135, 200, 400, 1000. Kids will enjoy counting the people, and searching for the subtle clues.

I'm a librarian. Originally I wanted to read this book to see if it was in the same vein as Pete Spier's People, which is in my youth 100s ordering section. While I ultimately do not think it fits in with the 155s, I think it would do well in either the counting books, the look and find books, or general picture books. I think this book is very unique and interesting, giving a lot more life to the typical look and find books such as I Spy or Where's Waldo.

A lovely book for all ages. It shows that no matter what your age, religion, sex, country, career, hobbies etc, we all matter.

I'm actually very confused at first, my sister (a thirteen-year-old) felt the same as well, because both of us didn't really understand what the book was about. I later realized that the book is about different people with different lives, with different motivations and actions, and that every single person in this world is unique and different from others. Pushing the confusions aside, I really like the illustrations, and after explaining this book to my sister, she was able to understand, reread, and appreciate this book as well. So I guess this book requires a little bit of adult guidance when children are reading this. Thumbs up for the artwork :)

Wow! I expected a kiddy counting book but I was blown away! This is a book for kids, for adults, for anyone. It can become a puzzle for hours of fun. It can become a spot it game like Where's Wally? It can be the starting point for conversations, lighthearted and profound. This will become a firm favourite on your family or classroom bookshelf.