Here I am blogging about another book by Graham Base, Uno‘s Garden (2006). As with his other books, this one is crowded with illustrations. The difference is, this one has fanciful creatures. It's a tale of environmental degradation and resurgence but it's also is a book about math. On the final page, Graham Base explains how subtraction, squares (multiplying a number by itself), and doubling result in dramatic quantitative changes.
Uno enters a forest and decides to live there. The forest is full of natural wonders which are identified and counted on the right-hand page of each two-page spread. At the very beginning of spring, when Uno arrives, we see 10 Moopaloops,100 plants, 0 buildings, and 1 Snortlepig. With the passage of time, come more human inhabitants. We meet more delightful creatures.
Sadly, with more people come more buildings, and when a railway is built we see 32 buildings, 16 plants, 4 Gondolopes, and 1 Snortlepig. Hunters, scientists, and construction workers arrive, and before long there are 128 buildings, only 4 plants, 2 Pricklebacks, and 1 Snortlepig. The city continues to grow until there are 0 animals, 0 plants, and 512 buildings.
The ending is not bleak. “The city crumbled, forgotten. The Snortlepig grew old and died. So did Uno.”, but Uno’s children and grandchildren bring the world back to life.
