Let's Count!

A menagerie of interesting characters--including pigs at a wedding party, a group of silly monkeys at a construction site, and a centipede wearing one hundred shoes--teaches young children how to count.

PreSchool-Grade 2-- In a rather disjointed book, children are introduced to counting, sets, and subsets. Mrs. Sheep starts things off when she says, "Class, let's have some fun. Today we'll practice counting--begin with ONE." Numbers 2 to 9 are depicted by a variety of animals engaging in various pursuits, which are described in accompanying couplets; numbers 10 to 19 feature the class of sheep throughout the course of their day. Then, the animals introduced in the first section are shown again when the count is done by 10s to 100. ("Can you see that SEVENTY is seven groups of ten?") Each page depicts the numeral, a corresponding number of characters, and an additional group of objects to count at the bottom of the page. The pen-and-watercolor illustrations feature personable critters somewhat in the style of an orderly Richard Scarry. Translated from Spanish, the verse is uneven and, though descriptive of the illustrations, often jars readers' ears with discordant rhythms. The school section also breaks the flow of the book. Although laudable for its efforts to introduce the concepts of sets to younger children, the weak text and broken flow put this one down for the count. --Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha Public Library, WI
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Starring a multi-specied cast, this kinetic picture book starts off counting by ones from zero to 20, then by 10s to 100. Rhyming couplets chronicle the helter-skelter activity, from "seven dogs at the deli" to nine balletic mice to 20 porcine partygoers. Unfortunately, Ballart's verses often scan awkwardly, and her rhymes are occasionally forced (e.g., "shoes" with "confused"). A dubious visual bonus appears in the form of related objects to be enumerated beneath each full-page illustration; these range from fanciful fish skeletons lying under eight overfed felines to the odd choice of six hypodermic needles in a rabbit-populated hospital. A section called "For more counting fun" at book's end indicates more complex math concepts: accordingly, 30 is represented by three sets of 10 differently dressed simian construction workers--the concept seems like overkill. At times the delicate pen-and-watercolor pictures display an offbeat humor, but their general congestion makes them unsuitable for primary counting lessons. A quirky but generally unsatisfactory numbers game. Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.