Valentina Jaskina has always dreamed of becoming an artist! From her early childhood, she created true "masterpieces" on the walls of her family home. Ideas and dreams of illustrating books or creating magical animations inspired her. During her school years, Valentina delved into the world of art, studying at a Children's Art School, and later honing her skills in classical drawing, painting, and graphic design at the Novosibirsk Art College. Her book illustrations have gained global recognition and received numerous prestigious awards: 2020 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards Gold Medal Winner, 2020 Purple Dragonfly Awards 1st Place Winner, 2022 Mom's Choice Awards Gold Award Recipient, 2022 & 2023 Readers' Favorite Five Star Winner, 2023 The BookFest First Place Award. Today, Valentina, along with her family, resides in the enchanting city of Tbilisi, Georgia.

"Count from 1 to 10 with these fathers and their young.

From under the sea to the high treetops, readers bounce through various habitats as dads interact with their offspring. A tentacled octopus reaches for his babies ("1 dad stretching"). In a meadow of purple flowers, cats tussle with their kittens ("9 dads cuddling"). Otters snuggle with their pups while floating down the river ("5 dads relaxing"). On each spread, a bold numeral in a pillowy font takes center stage, surrounded by full spreads of countable fathers and their young (only the dads match their equivalent numbers; many more babies are often present). The bright, utterly cute artwork depicts the pairs gazing adoringly at each other, except when they're snoozing with arms wrapped tightly around each other. The fathers often help pass down life skills--six bears teach their cubs how to hunt salmon, while eight birds demonstrate how to whistle a song. The culminating spread ("So many amazing dads! / Count all the dads around you") brings more pops into the fold, combining some animals seen on previous pages but also adding new friends.
A sweet ode to fatherhood that takes a walk on the wild side. (Picture book. 2-5)" - Kirkus Reviews

Publisher: Odd Dot

Pub date: 2025-05-13

Length: 32 pages