How Many Snails?: A Counting Book (Counting Books

by Paul Giganti Jr., Donald Crews (Illustrator)

A series of simple questions directs young readers to determine the differences between seemingly similar objects, encouraging them to develop powers of observation, discrimination, and visual analysis. There's plenty of opportunity to practice counting, too (but that's just the beginning!). With eye-catching, bold illustrations by a two-time Caldecott Honor-Book recipient.

Genres: Mathematics, Counting, Picture Books, Childrens, Number, Nonfiction, Juvenile

24 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Paul Giganti, Jr., teaches mathematics to teachers at the University of California at Berkeley. He is himself a graduate of UC Berkeley, with a degree in mathematics, and he taught in the public schools for fifteen years. He lives with his family in Albany, California.

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing counting book! But not just a counting book. It also deals with colors and spotting differences between similar pictures!
The numbers get a bit high, at points, but it goes up gradually. It might also be a good way to have older and younger children rake part in the same book.
Recommended!

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book! Fab idea and the think the children would really enjoy it.

[Nicole Garritt]

Title: How Many Snails? A counting book

Author: Paul Giganti

Illustrator: Donald Crews

Genre: Counting Book

Theme(s): Numbers, Animals, Counting

Opening line/sentence: “I went walking and I wondered: How many clouds were there?”

Brief Book Summary: This book is a counting book that travels to different places. It uses counting to help tell the stories. Some of the places traveled were the ocean and counting starfish, the garden and counting snails, the toy store and counting trucks. It not only counts the number of each thing but it counts different qualities about the things. For example, not only do they count the starfish, but also they question how many legs the starfish all have. This is a very unique counting book.

Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, 1988)
Precision in language use as well as in the counting of details is encouraged by questions such as ". . . how many clouds were big and fluffy? abig and fluffy and gray?" Color and pattern recognition, and similarity and difference can also be explored as children examine ten categories of brightly colored objects designed on double-page spreads especially for these purposes. CCBC Category: Concept Books. 1988, Greenwillow, 28 pages., $11.88. Ages 2-7.
(PUBLISHER: Greenwillow Books (New York:), PUBLISHED: c1988.)

Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
C. Henebry
This is a great value for a book combining both counting and also finding similarities and differences in a concept format. Your eager young scholar will delight in pointing out like objects and counting them. Big brother or sister will enjoy reading and teaching a younger sibling these concepts. 1994, Mulberry Paperback Book, $4.95. Ages 3 mo. to 8.
(PUBLISHER: Mulberry Paperback Book (New York:), PUBLISHED: 1994
Response to Two Professional Reviews: These reviews pinpoint why I enjoyed this counting book over others. Not only does it count, it compares the similarities and differences in the format. Pictures help with the counting and I really like how these reviews acknowledges that. It does encourage great counting questions as well.

Evaluation of Literary Elements: Great use of illustrations to help enhance the counting. Overall, the text was simple but also made the reader think. Not only were counting the obvious, but we were counting the details in the illustration too. The book has a great use of repetition and keeps reader wanting to see what is next to count.

Consideration of Instructional Application: Elementary schools can use this book to introduce numbers. Since we are counting, any math lesson could go along with this book. It is a fun easy way to learn how to count and use numbers. Also, kids can learn how to focus on illustrations to pay close attention to details in drawings.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interactive picture book that asks readers to identify how many items on the page match the various qualifiers.

This is a book to get kids involved in the reading. There are no answers to the questions, so adults reading with them will have to use their brains to figure things out too. The font size is nice and large and is dyslexic-friendly. A good choice for kids who are practicing learning to count, recognize patterns, and like to be involved in the reading process.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

An unseen narrator asks the reader to count different animals and objects.

The text uses a repetitive format that allows readers to anticipate what will happen next and participate in the book. Each two page spread begins: I went walking [to location] and I wondered: How many [things] were there?"

The illustrations were done in gouache paints and have a 1970s vibe.

[Kristin Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book for counting and visual discrimination. It doesn't just ask you to count the snails, but then to count how many have striped shells and finally to count how many are striped with their heads sticking out. The reader can easily extend the idea to ask even more questions.

[Christine Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating how our mind works. I started reading this, and I thought it was some kind of philosophical text. Then I remembered it was a counting book and all this wondering was literal instructions for the reader lmao

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great for those beginning to count. My son loved counting the different stuff and all the colors.

[Milton Louie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you eat snails? B

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great counting book for kids that have passed the 1-10 basics. Perfect for my 4yo who likes the added "seek & find" challenge. I would recommend for any early education library

[Little Champs]

Number 75

[Kelsie Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the book that I chose as my counting book and I love it! Both the jacket and the cover had the same graphics on this particular book. The end pages had orange, yellow, and green question marks in both the front and the back of the book. I thought the dedication page was so cute, it said "for all the people who count." I loved this book because each page has more than one question on it. You could probably spend at least an hour reviewing this book with a class of students, or even one student that needs extra help learning how to count. I jotted down one of the pages of the book as I was making notes to give an example of why I liked it so much. The page read, "I went walking to the garden and I wondered how many snails there were? How many snails had stripped shells? How many snails had stripped shells and stuck their heads out?" As you turned each page, the pictures were a full spread that went along with the questions on the page. As I hope you can picture from my example, on the particular page I was talking about there were several different snails with different shells and ones that had their heads out and some that did not. Each page was like this but with something different. I can't wait to use this in my classroom one day.

[Hatka Kecalovic · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book How Many Snails? by Paul Giganti serves as a good resource for lessons on counting. The book uses simple questions for readers to determine the differences between objects by using observation. The book uses a variety of objects to introduce students to the concept of counting. This book can be used in Pre-K to 5 grade classrooms. This book can be used in Pre-K to 2 grade classrooms.

[Chloe Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for children who are just learning how to the count. Not only can children practice their counting skills but they can also observe how the different snails look alike or different. I would have the children I read this book draw their own little snails then count how many they have drawn.

[Janice Redding · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book because it extends on the counting or number facts. Another thing I like this book because it is a good book to talk about comparing and categorizing items. I can use this book as a way to introduce this concept to my students by doing an activity like comparing items and counting, and then incorporate the concept of more or less.

[Sharia A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is filled with questions. This book each has pictures of a different animal from a different place. This book asks the students how many snails have red arms, blue arms, how many are on rocks and so forth. This book is good for students who are in 1st grade. This book has pictures big enough for students to count the animal on the object and any place else.

[Tiffany Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute story for young children. It is an interactive story book that asks counting questions based on the pictures. Children can practice counting while they read! Great for introducing counting to students!

[Erin Chambers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bigger text. Ask children to identify and count how many objects. Has a variety of objects on the different pages to identify and count so the children have a variety for different interest and helps to not bore the kids out.

[Logan Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book for younger elementary students. This is a great book for children who are just learning how to the count. Not only can children practice their counting skills but they can also observe how the different snails look alike or different.

[Geneva Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for pre school to pre k aged children to show how to sort and count in a fun way. I can think of so many lesson plans to do with this book with adjustments and learning extensions added. I recommend owning this book to anyone with children, or going into teaching.

[Jeannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great math picture book!

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best counting books I've ever seen... has the kids count all the objects and then a couple of subsets so they learn more than just counting

[Abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interactive story book that asks counting questions based on pictures. Children can practice counting as they read!

[Shaley Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for helping children count. It is very interactive and has a lot of good pictures to help catch their eye.

[Gianna Romo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to counting and the idea of compare and contrast. I would use this book to engage the students before they visited math workshop stations that focused on counting skills.

[Samantha Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book for categorization, counting, and sorting. Great for working on math skills.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

How many snails are there on this page? How many have striped shells? This book has counting concepts in it and asks readers to pay attention to the details and classify the objects.