Synopsis
A lively counting storybook follows a parade of extraordinary animals that leap out of a frog magician's hat, and when twelve bubble-blowing whales finally appear, it is time for everyone to march back in.
Reviews
PreSchool-Grade 1?A magical frog transports young readers to a world of imaginative wonder where 2 ducks dive off diving boards, 3 elephants play trumpets, etc., all the way to 12 whales blowing soap bubbles. Enjoying the antics are a young girl and boy who pull the numbers and animals from a tall black hat and finally declare, "Whales don't blow soap bubbles!" As readers count backwards, the little frog begins to devour all the props with each descending number, and grows and grows until he spans a two-page spread. He then leaps into the atmosphere and announces, "But frogs jump...any way they want!" Not only are numbers from 1-12 brought to life, but words with double meanings describe the creatures' zany activities. Eight monkeys don't swing from trees, but rather swing golf clubs. Similarly, nine spiders spin not a web, but from an amusement airplane ride. Kellogg's watercolor illustrations are masterful. They enliven the text and perfectly capture the humor. The oversized format allows children to examine the minute details of each picture and find the predictable clues for the next number. A creative book of counting and conjuring.?Patricia Mahoney Brown, Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, Kenmore, NY
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The animal stars of this oversized, cumulative counting book engage in activities that certainly sound normal enough: seven geese honk, eight monkeys swing, nine spiders spin, etc.). But as Kellogg's illustrations show, the animals are performing these feats in anything but the customary manner: the geese are honking horns, the monkeys swing golf clubs, the spiders hang from a spinning carousel. When the count reaches 12, debut author Brooks at last acknowledges the joke: "Twelve whales blow soap bubbles./ What? Whales don't blow soap bubbles!" Counting back down again, he points out the incongruities along the way ("Pelicans don't fish with poles") in a preschooler-pleasing isn't-this-silly voice. To these festivities Kellogg contributes a magical top hat, from which the animals are conjured forth, and a host of other giddy details. Though Brooks has a clever concept, ultimately it is Kellogg's exuberantly imagined art, nimbly rendered in his characteristically sunny colors, that counts most. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Ages 4^-6. The witty interplay of text and illustrations brightens this lighthearted counting book. "One frog jumps, two ducks dive, three elephants trumpet, four rabbits run . . ." goes the text, but in the picture, the frog jumps like a ballet dancer, the ducks dive Olympic-style, the elephants trumpet through brass horns rather than their trunks, and the rabbits stride out wearing track uniforms and running shoes. As more animals appear, the exuberant pages become increasingly frantic. Finally, someone objects that "whales don't blow soap bubbles. / Pigs don't squeal on motorcycles," and each group makes a final appearance pointing out the absurdity for those who missed it the first time around. The simple, amusing text is the perfect platform for Kellogg's ample imagination to jump from. A good idea that pays off. Carolyn Phelan
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