Quack and Count - Hardcover

Baker, Keith

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0152928588 ISBN 13: 9780152928582

Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books, 1999

Synopsis

Playful, rhyming text and bold collage illustrations capture the excitement of a day's adventure as a family of lively ducklings slip, slide, leap, and dive--grouping themselves in all the different combinations that add up to seven. 30,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author

Keith Baker has written and illustrated many well-loved picture books and early chapter books, including several about the charming and lovable Mr. and Mrs. Green. Two of his best-known picture books, Hide and Snake and Who Is the Beast?, are about animals. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

Reviews

Lush, layered, cut-paper illustrations of ducklings in a marshy landscape create visual density that contrasts with the simplicity of the narrative in this attractive early math book. The book ever-so-gently introduces addition, dividing the seven ducks into different groupings. Starting with "6 plus 1," Baker (Big Fat Hen) moves one duck at a time to the right-hand page, so he works through all possible combinations. For example, the lines "Splashing as they leap and dive/ 7 ducklings, 2 plus 5" clarify a picture of two ducks diving into a pond to join five that are already swimming on the other page; in the next spread, one duck is on the left page, six are bottoms-up on the right. The artwork often camouflages the septet, making the counting a fun challenge: the ducklings sometimes overlap, or readers can spot them among the ferns and grasses. Baker varies the engaging compositions and characterizes the ducks as a lively bunch: in one scene they play hide-and-seek, and in another they gather in two rings to test out their lungs ("Quack-quack-quacking on the shore"). Ladybugs, snails and other wildlife keep the ducks company. This deceptively straightforward book introduces youngsters to addition in such an unobtrusive, organic and merry way that they may not even notice how much they're learning. Ages 2-7. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Baker (Big Fat Hen, 1994, etc.) engages in more number play, posing ducklings in every combination of groups, e.g., ``Splashing as they leap and dive/7 ducklings, 2 plus 5.'' Using a great array of streaked and dappled papers, Baker creates a series of leafy collage scenes for the noisy, exuberant ducklings to fill, tucking in an occasional ladybug or other small creature for sharp-eyed pre-readers to spot. Children will regretfully wave goodbye as the ducks fly off in neat formation at the end of this brief, painless introduction to several basic math concepts. (Picture book. 4-6) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

PreSchool-Grade 1-Seven uniquely marked ducklings slide, chase bees, and play peekaboo as they group on double-spread pages to illustrate ways to add up to their sum. "Splashing as they leap and dive/7 ducklings, 2 plus 5" shows five swimmers opposite two divers. Jaunty scenes in cut-paper collage with a gracious array of colors offer plenty of extras, including a pair of ladybugs that accompany the ducks throughout except for the V-formation at the end. The art successfully captures the birds' camouflage and rippling water with speckled papers, but this effect sometimes turns the counting exercise into a seek-and-find challenge. Still, the book is attractive, and children will have fun with it.
Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0152928588
• ISBN 13: 9780152928582
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 24