The last thing the world really needs is a new counting book. The only reasonable justification for yet another one is a concept so fresh and original that it adds innovative perspective or rare beauty to that oh-so-familiar territory.

One Is Canada by writer/schoolteacher Maxine Trottier and illustrator Bill Slavin is just such a knock-your-socks-off counting book. Trottier’s idea, so simple and clever, is no less than a dramatic ovation to the geography and people of Canada. We have, for example, one country, three oceans, Six Nations, the Group of Seven, and 10 provinces. She uses a splash of poetic licence to define the less obvious numbers – eight lines in “O Canada,” nine centuries since the first Norse settlements. But this creativity adds showmanship and even surprise to a fine numeric chant.

Slavin’s bold and expansive paintings bring unforgettable impact and strength to this highly patriotic picture book. Except for a certain rigidity in the Group of Seven portrait and the lack of an insert or box to clarify the four points of the compass, each double-page picture is vibrant, dynamic, and of stunning scope and original perspective. Slavin’s oceans are truly full of life, his Vikings and fishermen proud and heroic.

The book meets two often conflicting objectives. It’s a delight for the ear and eye and also a source of basic information. Trottier and Slavin accomplish this fusion without undue earnestness. For the interested reader or older child, the author helpfully provides a brief page of additional notes on Canada at the back. One Is Canada celebrates this country with dignity and panache.