Miko’s Magic Number

This is a well-produced novelty title which handles extremely well and meets its intentions successfully. The quality and originality of the illustrations and concept make it a pleasurable read. A small circle die-cut throughout the book shows numbers that can be changed with the aid of a sturdy wheel on the side. The wheel has plus and minus arrows and perfectly sized indents to help little fingers turn it up or down as instructed on each double page spread. I do think it would have been better to have the minus sign printed the right way up as you read the book rather than to align it with the wheel’s circumference (it appears vertically which might confuse). The book’s subtitle invites us to count with the magic wheel and we start by turning the wheel to choose a number from one of Miko’s balloons. As we turn each page, Miko instructs us to add or take away: ‘Turn the wheel UP to take one away…’ The text, clearly written and printed, appears with its mathematical representation below (so -1 in this example) to reinforce the connection between the words, numbers and symbols. At the end we lift the flap to discover our answer is the same as Miko’s Magic Number! An entertaining and instructive title with beautiful illustrations.