There is no escaping the fact that all counting books have an element of didacticism. But folk artist Maxwell Newhouse (The House That Max Built) makes the predictable task of getting from 10 to one quietly suspenseful in this Arctic animal countdown.

What begins as a clear, cold night on the first page, with “10 Caribou Crunching” snowballs, turns into a near whiteout by the book’s end, with only “1 Moose, Silent in the Falling Snow.” The cumulative snowfall is perfectly paced: each turn of the page reveals a new level of intensity in the growing blizzard, bringing an enjoyable hide-and-seek element. Each page also offers a new perspective on the various animals, showing them plodding off into the horizon or flying into the night sky.

Newhouse makes the most of the limited blue, black, and white palette of an Arctic winter evening. Oil on linen captures the rich textures of the muskoxen’s thick, sinewy fur, the hare’s rotund softness, and the heavy wetness of each snowflake. Newhouse infuses every creature’s peering black eyes with character and life, but accuracy trumps anthropomorphism in the realistic portraits.

Newhouse’s sensitive portrayal of the stark Arctic landscape creates an atmospheric chilliness that perfectly captures a winter evening north of the 49th parallel. Original without being gimmicky, Counting on Snow should come with the purchase of every crib in this country, as it has all the makings of a Canadian classic.