At the Edge of the Woods: A Counting Book

Can you count all the animals that live in the woods?

"At the edge of the woods, the grass grows tall,
the daisies dance and the blackbirds call.
One chipmunk lives in the old stone wall
at the edge of the deep, dark woods."

The chipmunk is not alone. Two spotted fawns play in the grass. Three furry foxes drink from the pond. And who is that coming out of the cave? Count up to ten and back again with the animals of the deep, dark woods.

Cynthia Cotten has written several books for young readers, including This Is the Stable, Abbie in Stitches, and Snow Ponies. She grew up in Lockport, New York, a small town on the Erie Canal, where she loved playing and exploring at the edge of the woods. She didn't always know she wanted to be a writer―she dreamed of being a teacher, a marine biologist, a U.N. interpreter and a jockey―but she always loved reading. "My idea of the perfect summer vacation," she says, "was to go to the library once a week, check out as many books as I could fit into my bike basket, and spend the rest of the week sitting someplace cool, reading." Cotten lives in Montclair, Virginia.

Reg Cartwright was art director for various advertising agencies before turning his talents to children's books. He has illustrated more than thirty books for young readers, including Mister Potter's Pigeon, which won the Mother Goose Award. He and his wife, writer Ann Cartwright, live with their two sons in Leicestershire, England.