How to Count to One... with Caspar Salmon

How to Count to One (Nosy Crow Books) is the surprising and hilarious picture book by Caspar Salmon, illustrated by Matt Hunt. 

Children who are familiar with a traditional counting book is like will shriek with laughter at Caspar and Matt's fresh approach to learning to count and interactive storytelling - while still learning about numbers and our world. Enjoy a short reading from How to Count to One by the author, Caspar Salmon.

More about How to Count to One:  A hilariously bossy picture book about counting that children will love to outsmart! A fun and interactive read-aloud experience.  Read an extract from How to Count to One

 

ReadingZone caught up with author Caspar Salmon to find out about How to Count to One

1.   What kinds of picture books do you enjoy the most - both reading and writing?

I enjoy books that I think have brilliant writing, which feel like proper fiction rather than objects for patronising children with. Books with a bit of an edge, a touch of mystery or ambiguity, are also a bit of a treat.

2.   Can you tell us a bit about your new book, How to Count to One?

Yes - the book was born from the way I parent my children, who love nothing more than to correct me: for me to be in the wrong, and be the silly one, and for them to be right, seems to be a fun reversal of roles to them. I am also quite anarchic as a father, and tease my kids a fair bit, so the book kind of reflects that dynamic, which I think children find quite unusual, funny, and rather stimulating.

3.   It's not hard counting to one - so is the idea maths by stealth? Or just to have fun?

It's really just about fun! I wanted to take the mickey out of all the wishy-washy, condescending books I've seen for kids, that invite them to learn with the help of cute objects. This book is (hopefully!) the opposite of all that, and will encourage a more riotous reading time with kids.

4.   It's a very interactive read, so how did you go about writing it / designing it?

I wrote my own parts of text, and in sending off the book to my publishers I included, in brackets, descriptions of the images I thought we should see. Of course, those pictures changed over time with Matt's beautiful, lively illustrations, which in turn involved a bit of a rewrite at times.

5.   What kinds of reactions do you get from children to the book? Do you have any suggestions for how to share it?

Not very many children have read it so far! The ones who have done seem to enjoy it, and I am pretty happy that the way of sharing it is kind of dictated by the book itself. I think parents and carers can choose whether or not to lean into the narrator's slightly more unhinged, tyrannical qualities, but I think kids can really get down with a reader who has a demented agenda and starts to unravel over the course of the book.

6.   Are you planning any other kinds of counting or interactive books?

Possibly some more books involving a bit of interaction, yes - I like the idea of writing in this quite punky, silly vein. I think I'm done with counting, but at the moment I'm mulling over an idea for a book which would similarly require kids to participate and correct the narrator.

7.   What did you think when you saw the finished book, brilliantly illustrated by Matt Hunt?

I was delighted. In truth, I had been scared that the pictures would be too cute - my original idea for the book was for it to be quite crazy and challenging - and I think Matt's illustrations are inviting, colourful, agile, without being syrupy.

8.   What comes next, what have you got planned?

I'm trying to think of what to write next! I've had an idea for a ghost story for older children, and I want to write another picturebook, so those are my priorities at the moment. I also have ideas for a few things for grown-ups, so I need to have a bit of confidence that I can get those done.

9.   What kinds of activities do you enjoy when you're not creating picture books?

I'm a film nut - I write about film and culture as a journalist, which I enjoy. I love hanging out with my children and friends, going to France (where I grew up and where my parents still live), swimming in the open air, reading, writing, tennis, dating, going for a dance, being silly on the internet, and singing.