While I am a staunch defender of the great historic librarian Anne Carroll Moore, there is one point upon which the two of us most certainly diverge. ACM had a distinct dislike of any book that fell too far over the line into what might be considered a "toy". Even board books (such as they were at the time) were not exempt from her disdain. One can only imagine how she would react to seeing something as downright enjoyable and playable as Number Train. It's kind of a jack-of-all-trades board book. First, it has wheels. Beautiful wheels that allow you to, when closed, make it ride all around (presumably while making choo-choo noises). Second, it is a "giant lift-the-flap concertina book" (something it declares proudly on its own cover). That means you can open it up and display it that way. It is ALSO a counting book! Those flaps you lift lead to alliterative descriptions of different animals partaking of various activities on the train on one side. On the other side all those same animals have gotten mixed up, and you have the choice of trying to find and count each one through the various train cars. Sometimes when a book says it can provide hours of fun it's stretching the truth a little. This book doesn't make that claim, but I think it could do so with impunity.—Betsy Bird, A Fuse #8 Production