One of Each

by Mary Ann Hoberman, Marjorie Priceman (Illustrator)

Oliver Tolliver lives all alone and has one of everything in his little house-one table, one chair, one apple, and one pear. To him, it's perfect. But when he invites Peggoty Small over to admire his arrangement, he finds she has quite another opinion. She feels his one-of-each house leaves no room for anyone else! Suddenly Oliver sees she's right, and he finds a pair for every single thing in his house. In the end he realizes that sharing makes room for friends. As only she can, Mary Ann Hoberman deftly crafts a simple, comforting story that speaks to every child's experience. Accompanied by Marjorie Priceman's bold, colorful illustrations, this picture book is destined to become a story time favorite.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Poetry, Mathematics, Dogs

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Mary Ann Hoberman was an American author of over 30 children's books.

Reviews

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some rhyming books work. Others... don't. They sound trite, or forced, or just awkward. This is one of them.

Worse, I don't think I quite like the message. You should have two of everything so you can have friends? I guess it's not a bad message, but why did it even need to be said? When is this ever going to come up? Seems like a long way to go to get to "sharing is good!" And who makes friends by finding random strangers on the street and bringing them home (and then changing everything to suit their needs)? What about looking for common interests or something?

[Shelby Poinikiewski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was just thinking about this book. I remember being a kid and perusing the children's section of the Denton recycled books and records and picking up this book. It had a dog on it which it probably why I picked it. I was obsessed with dogs and was only reading dog literature. What's crazy to me is I remember distinctly the character having only one of everything. One chair, one cup, one plate, etc, because it just made sense, why should he have more than one when there's only one of him? I remember the plot being that his cat friend comes over and she makes him realize the need to have two of everything so he can share and that's the beauty of friendship or whatever, but what's crazy to me is that I think this is where I got the idea that being a "minimalist" was exactly what I wanted to be without knowing that would be a thing years later. And I carried this idea with me for years! Thinking one day I'll have my own place and I'll just have one chair and one bowl and one spoon. Anyways I finally found it with a quick google search and just had to document it! Here you go, minimalists. Would recommend.

[Grace VanKirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oliver Tolliver is a dog who lives in a house. He has one of each thing. He has one table, chair, pear, peach, plum, etc. One day he gets lonely, so he gets dressed up and decides to invite the first person he encounters. He runs into Peggy, Peggoty Small (a cat). She accepts his invitation but is disappointed in his house. There is no room for her. When she leaves, Oliver realizes that she is right. So he goes to the store and buys one more of each, so now his house is fit for two. He now has friends and eventually, there are so many people in his house that he has to break out the fruit for refreshments.

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars because the story was really engaging. Firstly, the text rhymed, which is great for a children's book. The characters were animals so that would capture kids' attention. The story has a couple of interactive/repeat after-me elements. The illustrations are large and realistic. There is also a good message of sharing and friendship.

[Antonio Feitoza Gomes · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is very rare for me to to review a children’s book with five stars. This one however totally deserves it. It is so beautiful, colorful, and smart, that I could not stop reading it. I did it with my little brother and he could not stop smiling and cheering for Oliver Tolliver. This book teaches us about the power of connection, about the beauty in sharing, and about how sad it is to be alone. That there is no beauty in being alone, and no romance in not spreading the love that we feel. I highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to have a very smart read.

[Kelly Wickham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just really love this book. There are so many things about it that make it sweet and worthy. First of all the songy song rhyming rhythm of the text, which repeats specific phrases is very comforting. When I read it out loud it lulls me into a rhythm wears my it feels natural to have my voice rise and fall in a very soothing way. The pictures are exquisite. Very detailed, bright, and colorful pictures that have rough edges that kids can relate to. The expressions on the animal's faces are playful, soft and gentle. Then there is the story - Oliver Tolliver is a very happy do, living in his very organized home for 1. He thinks it is perfect in every way.
Then Oliver finds a friend - Peggity Small. He wants to have her over, but upon reflection realizes that his house is only set up for 1. He rushes about to make his house perfect for 2. And then more friends showed up... What was Oliver to do? He realized that there is always more tea to more and cupcakes and fruits can be cut up into many pieces. He discovered spending time with friends was the best of all!

[Jami Hines · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really thought this was a cute book. The pages were so colorful and detailed. My 6-year-old loved it too. This is about a dog who lives by himself. He only has one of everything. He realizes that he wished he had someone to enjoy his things with. He sets out to find someone that will become his friend. The friend was not happy with one of each and said that this would not work for her. So, the dog goes out and buys one more of each so his friend would come back to visit. He realized that having friends was the best thing of all.
Super cute story. My child realized that it is nice to have friends. The more the better he says.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I smiled and giggled the entire time while I was reading the book. Oliver Tolliver is the name of the sweet natured Airedale Terrier dog who lives all by himself. He learns how to make friends by listening to the advice given to him from a cat named Peggoty Small.
The story is told in rhyming poetry. The illustrations are colorful and full of imagination. Just look at the front cover and it will make you want to read the book.
Young children will learn about sharing and the numbers one and two. It's a book they will want to read and hear over and over again.
I read a copy on the Internet Archive.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book ends with a positive message, my 5-year-old niece asked me if Ms. P was being rude to Oliver about halfway through the book. I initially said, no, she's telling him that there's nowhere for her to sit. And my niece said, "But there's one sofa. She can sit on that." We flipped back to look, and she was right. It's a small detail, but it did detract a bit from the premise of the book.

[Tori Crews]

This book is very cute for students. It is fun and engaging. It is very colorful and the illustrations are detailed. This book is about a dog who lives by himself and only has one of everything. He then realizes he wishes he had someone to enjoy all this stuff with He went to find a friend and after he found one the friend was not happy about the one of each. He goes and buys more so the friend would stay. He realizes having a friend is the best thing.

[Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had fun reading this book. The rhyme, the pictures and why one of each is important. Then to share with a friend and realize one of each not enough. Great story about sharing.

[Haaley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book. I like the story

[Emily✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A childhood favorite.

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hoberman's lilting text shines here, though I find the message a little bit confusing (if you want friends, you must buy things!).

[Randi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful, sweet, and fun little book. I love the rhymes and the art.

[Carolyn Magee · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book with an underlying message. love you Oliver Talliver

[Kelly Shiverdecker]

Published: 1997

This children's fiction book is about a dog who has one of everything and lists everything he has from the types of furniture to the types of food he has, where at the end he invited his friends to come over and they brought one of something.

[Jessica LeBaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Each
Mary Ann Hoberman

This book is focused on the life of a dog named Oliver Tolliver. Oliver Tolliver lived in a house all alone, and so he only ever had one of everything. One book, one clock, one chair, one plate, and so on. He really enjoyed only having one of each. One day while he was walking out and about, he met a cat named Peggoty Small, and he invited her over to his house. However, when Peggoty went to Oliver's house, she was upset because he only had one of each, and she left after saying that his house was only made for one person, and no more than that. When Peggoty left, Oliver realized that this was probably the reason why he never had any friends visit him, and he rushed out and bought more of everything in his house. When Peggoty came over again, she was thrilled and very happy, and even more of Oliver's friends came over to visit too. This made Oliver very happy, and he didn't want it to be any other way. This book was written in all couplets, so it could be used for a poetry lesson. It could also be used in a counting lesson due to the fact that he had one of everything, and then he bought more. I would like to have this book in a classroom because I think that students would appreciate the story and the fun illustrations of animals being personified.

[Hannah]

Published: 1997
This fantasy book was about a dog who had one of each in his house. He thought that everything was so perfect that he invited more animals to see, but they weren't pleased because he only had one of each thing (one chair, one plate). So he bought more things so that he was able to share with more animals.

[Deidra Elijah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book hits many concepts that children learn while they are growing up. I believe this book teaches the concept of sharing because Oliver Toliver wanted to share his thing(s) with Peggidy, but the issue is, he only owned one of each item. I think this book also teaches about friendship and how to approach people. Last but not least I like the book because it showed how Oliver stepped out of his comfort zone to save a friendship, and in the end, his friendship made him very comfortable.

[Ruth Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oliver, the dog, is so pleased with his "one of everything house" that he shows it off to Peggoty the cat, who is not so impressed. So he buys a second of everything so his house works better for company. Very colorful book that would probably appeal to children . . . but even the with a rhyming text, it just didn't "tickle MY fancy".

[Ashlee Gibson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about a dog who has nothing more of one of everything in his house. When he tries to find a friend to share his house with, he finds that he must make some adjustments if he wants her to stay. This book would be a good way to talk about the importance of sharing and how to make adjustments when needed.

[Caitlin Barclay]

This is such a cute book. It can be used for a variety of reasons but it is also a fun read. The illustrations are colorful and the cat in the story presents a problem that the student can predict how to solve! It rhymes and of course has a repeated phrase ("one of each") that makes the book a tool for phonemic awareness and even fluency. I would recommend this book!

[Paul Hankins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dog used to living by himself has only had a need for one of each thing. But when he goes out looking for someone with whom he can share his home, some accommodations need to be made. Wonderful, simple rhyme scheme would be inviting to young listeners as a read-aloud.

Caldecott Award Winning artist, Marjorie Priceman's illustrations are colorful and fun!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

51 months - I know we've read this book from the library before but I didn't have it in our Good Reads book shelf. Weird. I wouldn't say this is the most amazon book ever written but the illustrations are cute especially because the dog is a terrier! I had to buy it specifically because the dog looks like our wire fox terriers. :)

[Jane G Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Each is a lovely story about Oliver Tolliver who learns that two is better than one--friends are good things to have. The ever so charming artwork by Marjorie Priceman is imaginative and fun. A great book to read again and again to little ones...

[Melanie Boss · Rating 4 out of 5]

picture book. This is also a poetry book. Very repetitive, great for young readers and learning readers. Occasional confusing parts and the flow wasn't perfect. About a dog who realizes sharing with friends is better than having everything only just right for himself.

[Raven Grider · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of Each is great for rhyming, learning friend making skills, and sharing. This book is VERY visually appealing, and it would keep children engaged during a whole group read aloud based on the pictures alone.

[Janet Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to emphasize rhyming and maybe even phonemic awareness. There are words in there that you can focus on based on the beginning phoneme or ending phoneme. Great book to read from grades k -4. Pictures and story inside are great too!

[Renae Williams]

This book is full of rhymes which makes it fun to read. This book would be good to use for a sight word lesson because there are a lot of sight words along with pictures. It is colorful and i would reccommend it for K-2 grades.

[Kelsi Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of each would be a good book to introduce young students to poetry. There is repetition in that the last word of every two lines rhymes and are also predictable. The pictures are bright and fun and there is a cute story line about having one of each.