The Counting Book of Prince Hayo the Happy

When Prince Hayo is one year old, he is given two dogs. One to sleep against and one to crawl beneath. When he is two years old, he is given three rabbits. On Prince Hayo’s sixth birthday, he has a video party for six royal children. For his ninth birthday, he has a magic show. Prince Hayo just thinks it’s boring. He feels lonely. For his tenth birthday, he doesn’t want anything. But his mum has made a special present: a little sister. And, because of her, even the boring things are only half as boring.

Edward van de Vendel has not just written a counting book: this story is cleverly constructed around the increasingly complex list of presents and characters. Van de Vendel depicts Prince Hayo as a prince with his own ideas, which develop and become even stronger as he gets older. Mattias De Leeuw’s illustrations beautifully complement the story. The imaginative fun bursts off the pages. You don’t know where to look first – it’s so much fun discovering all those new details and storylines. De Leeuw uses fine, spontaneous lines to draw and paint characters of flesh and blood within stunning settings full of colour and life. This is a collection of sparkling scenes that completely absorb the reader’s attention.