Mrs. Tuttle has twenty Dalmatians in her obedience class, and they are all named Daisy.  Mrs. Tuttle has no problem telling them apart, but her assistant Doris does.  This is the premise of the picture book Daisy 1 2 3 by Peter Catalanotto.  The reader soon learns, along with Doris, exactly how Mrs. Tuttle identifies all twenty very distinct Dalmatians named Daisy. 

Daisy 1 2 3 is a counting book with a clever conflict:   how numbers and counting help Mrs. Tuttle keep her 20 students apart.  Each illustration renders a comic scene of one Dalmatian with a certain characteristic.  For example, Daisy 1 has one peculiar spot.  The illustration for this text is a Dalmatian with a footprint shaped spot in between her eyes.  Daisy 7 is decked out in a swim cap, goggles, and fins and has 7 medals for swimming around her neck.  Daisy 12 is dressed in glass slippers and a Cinderella style dress and she must be home by twelve, midnight.

Illustrations are rendered in warm watercolors:  greens, purples, reds, blues and gold.  Dalmatians are characteristically playful and vivid animals and Catalanotto plays upon that in his book; each Dalmatian is depicted with vibrant personality in a vibrantly colored setting.  It would be hard to imagine another breed more suited for this entertaining book.

The book's playful canine counting theme is appropriate for preschool through the early elementary grades.  Even the novice counter will be able to quickly identify the attributes of the funny Dalmatians and laugh at the ending joke of the book, about each Daisy having her own spot.