Counting on Community

Counting up from one stuffed pianata 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.

INNOSANTO NAGARA's new-wave board books encourage children to grow up with confidence in themselves, and to be proactive citizens who are passionate about causes from environmental issues to LGBTQ rights and civil rights. Nagara was born and raised in Indonesia, and moved to the US in 1988. After studying zoology and philosophy at UC Davis, 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.

 In this powerful concept book follow-up to A Is for Activist, Nagara tackles counting. Typical urban neighborhood pastimes are depicted with verve and vibrant colors, including working in community gardens and drawing with sidewalk chalk. Young readers will have fun trying to locate an ever-present duck on each spread. Racial and ethnic diversity is celebrated on every page, and the lyrical text will inspire budding and longtime activists alike. --School Library Journal

Few children's books present a world in which kids and their families are so diverse, engaged, and vibrant. Not only is Counting on Community an endearing and beautifully illustrated book, it represents the best hopes and dreams for our communities. --Bryant Terry, host of the PBS series The Endless Feast, and author of Afro-Vegan

“At last, a counting book that will speak to all kinds of different people, living in diverse environments! Counting on Community has real-world content that breaks up stereotypes while teaching.” —Novella Carpenter,
author of Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer