posted on 21 Feb 2020

Everybody Counts by Kristin Roskifte, translated by Sian Mackie

I am not usually a fan of books with a mathematical angle as I still tend to go into a cold sweat at the memories of trying to solve impossible problems and being shouted at by my teacher Sister Cecil, a fierce little nun who had no time for children who would not try hard enough. If only picture books like this one had been available back in my 1960s classroom, perhaps I would have been able to understand better and even been inspired to enjoy the subject.

Ultimately though, this award winning book is a story about people and how their lives interweave and overlap – the mathematical content is incidental. I loved the vibrantly coloured , densely packed design of the front and back covers that include people of all shapes and sizes. Some are full face on and others are shown in profile, lots of them look very happy, but some have a sterner expression. I lingered for quite some time before opening and then realised that every page was a feast to linger over.

The premise of the story is that ‘everybody counts’ because they are important, no matter what they might look like and it is no surprise to discover that the Norwegian author and illustrator is ‘ inspired by the differences and similarities between human beings’.  There are 2768 individual characters included in the book and many of them pop up on different pages – the visual puzzle is to find them and recognise how different aspects of their complicated lives overlap. There is a useful insert included that shows an example of what is described as a narrative line. This shows a particular woman and a man going to the library with 16 other people, planning their wedding with 48 others, going to the beach as part of a group of 200 and watching a comet together as part of a crowd of 1000. Trying to fix on different characters in this way could be very absorbing for readers , especially as they are sometimes wearing different clothes – the only constants are physical features like hair and skin colour.

I spent ages perusing the intricate details on each page and have selected a couple of favourites:

                                                     ‘Seven people in a police line-up.

                                         Four of them have never done anything wrong.

                                             All of them are scared they’ll be singled out’.

Because they have been selected for a line- up, they of course share similar hairstyles and moustaches, but there are plenty of subtle differences which made me think about how reliable such procedures might be.

                                  ‘Eighty-five people at the cinema. The film makes one of them

                                      see the world in a new light. Three of them think it’s boring.

                                       One of them will watch the film again in eighty two years’.

I found myself trying to guess which ones were bored and just couldn’t decide because there is such a range of emotions shown. I suppose that one of the children must be the one that will re-watch it in the future, but would it be the cheery looking girl wearing glasses or the little blond boy at the front with his eyes closed as he snuggles up to his dad and drinks from a cup with a straw.

 

I can imagine using this intriguing picture book with children and young people of all ages to prompt discussion about how everyone has an individual life but is part of a bigger interdependent community. There is plenty to ponder on each page and this is supplanted with further questions and information on the closing pages. I must admit that it also one that can while away many happy hours for an adult like myself who enjoys speculating about people’s lives and their individual stories.  This is tantalising stuff that is well described by KirKus Reviews as ‘A treasure house of mysteries large and small’.

 

Karen Argent

February 2020

(Click on any image below to view them in a slide show format)