La niña que contaba

by Romana Romanyshyn, Andriy Lesiv, Manuel Rud (Translator)

A diferencia de otros niños, que prefieren andar en bicicleta o jugar con muñecas, lo que más le gusta a Dora en el mundo es contar.
Dora cuenta todo lo que ve, desde los animales más extraños hasta los pequeñísimos granos de arroz en el plato de su almuerzo.
Pero un día intenta contar las estrellas y descubre que son demasiadas, casi infinitas. ¿Será posible contar también las estrellas?

Genres: Picture Books, Fiction, Childrens, Ukraine, Space, Mathematics

Paperback

First published December 25, 2013

About the author

Illustrator, author of children’s books, co-founder (with Andriy Lesiv) of Art Studio Agrafka.

Education:
– Lviv College of decorative and Applied Art n.a. Ivan Trush – 2003;
– Lviv National Art Academy, Ukraine – 2009;
– Scholarship Program “GAUDE POLONIA”, Krakow, Poland – 2010;
– Scholarship Program “GAUDE POLONIA”, Warsaw, Poland – 2012.

Lives and works in Lviv, Ukraine.

Reviews

[Hilary]

Flora is a little girl who loves numbers, her parents are mathematicians, and she has a big ambition - to count the stars! Flora started by counting poppy seeds, dots on her dress and soon moved on to bigger projects!

This beautiful picture books has the most intricate illustrations, full of interesting details. The back pages have a fascinating page about fun with figures, an informative section on famous mathematicians and some further ideas for exploring the world of mathematics!

An ideal read for the little mathematicians in your life!

[Agris Fakingsons]

..šīs mazās grāmatiņas ilustrācijas ir tikpat apbrīnojamas kā Salvadora Dalī darbi.

[Arta Brice]

“Ikvienu uzdevumu, pat vissarežģītāko, jāsāk no visvienkāršākā - no viens, divi, trīs...”

Sagribējās skaitīt.
Zvaigznes, magoņu sēkliņas. Un vārdus.
Trīs simti. Piecdesmit viens.
Tik vārdu prasa visu pasaules zvēru, pat lamantīnu, tapīru, pīļknābju (un visa cita) skaitīšana.

Neaprakstāmi burvīgas ilustrācijas. Ne no zemes šīs...

[Ярослава]

По-мойму, це така спеціальна книжка для дітей хіпстерів - про дівчинку, яка від явного OCD не страждає, а насолоджується (компульсивно рахує все на світі за підтримки батьків), кролика в неї звати Боргес, кота - Піфагор (тільки чому не Тесла?). Але ілюстрації блискучі!

[Inese Okonova]

Labākais šajā grāmatā ir saspēle starp tekstu un ilustrācijām, kas ir vienkārši brīnišķīgas un iztēli rosinošas.

[Dimity Powell]

The layout and design of this book that essentially celebrates mathematics, is divine. Lesiv's illustrations, sometimes abstract, absurdly detailed and tastefully subdued in hue, provide acres of exploration for the budding scientist or mathematician like, Flora, the little girl who loves to count.

Romanyshyn's narrative reveals Flora's ardent fascination with numbers and the greater world around her. She is curious and analytical, precise and inquisitive and thanks to her unbridled desire to learn more and more, so do we.

This book is rich in facts and figures. It is visually stimulating and although there is no true storyline, Flora's sense of being promotes the notion that we can achieve any dream no matter how big by taking one tiny step at a time.

[Linda]

Grāmatēžos - Ukrainas un ukraiņu literatūra.

Sākotnēji šī likās patiešām daudzsološa grāmata - stāsts par meiteni, kas mīl skaitīt. Tomēr, pirms gulētiešanas izlasot īsos teksta gabaliņus, sajūta par to visu bija mīnusos. Iespējams, labāk to uztvertu bērni vecāku lasījumā.
Bet mierinājumu man dod arī grāmatas anotācija, kas sākas ar vārdiem "Bilžu grāmata". Tā tik tiešām ir, un ilustrācijas ir burvīgas! Tajās gan es kavējos ilgāk, tu var ar pirkstgaliem izstaigāt labirintu un izlēkt klasītes, uzzīmēt kaķi un trusi un galu galā saskaitīt, ko vien lasītājs pamana. To pašu saka arī anotācija - "Varbūt tu arī gribi pamēģināt?"

[Jimena González Lebrero]

Dora es una niña que ama contar. Sus padres son matemáticos, por lo que desde muy pequeña disfruta de contar todo; desde semillas de amapola, hasta los lunares de un vestido. Su imaginación vuela a tierras desconocidas y ella cuenta, cuenta y cuenta. Un día, se dispuso a contar las estrellas observando el cielo desde su telescopio. Sin embargo, se dio cuenta que no podía, que "ni siquiera todos los números que conocía podrían alcanzar para contarlas". Pero su mamá la tranquiliza y le explica que, de a poco, todo se puede lograr. Solo necesitamos constancia y paciencia.

"La niña que contaba" es un libro hermoso escrito e ilustrado por autores ucranianos. La edición es tapa dura y la letra es imprenta minúscula. Ideal para niñes de entre 4 y 7 años.

[Honore]

Not my cup of tea. The story does not progress enough for my taste and the pages highlighting famous mathematicians and museum websites to visit felt totally geared towards adults. The collage art style feels tired because so many marketing campaigns have utilized it in the past to sell to "hipsters". I actually almost didn't finish it.

[Global Literature in Libraries Initiative]

When I was a kid, I loved to count all sorts of things, as so many children do. Because numbers are fascinating! Even the names are cool: long before there was Google, there were googols and googolplexes.

In Stars and Poppy Seeds, a picture book for ages 3-7, Flora is the child of mathematicians. And Flora easily puts my childhood counting to shame. She counts “sea cows, elephants, and platypuses… poppy seeds, grains of rice, the polka dots on her new red dress, the pearls on her mum’s necklace and the letters in her dad’s book.” She ponders the number of drops in bodies of water....
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To read the full review, visit our website!
https://glli-us.org/2021/01/27/worldk...

[Pamela Cooper]

I was challenged to read a book by a Ukrainian national in the past several months in the Words & Whimsy Reading Challenge. This book is phenomenal. The artwork, the mathematical facts & love of numbers are very uniquely presented and intertwined. This is truly a work of art. Parents! This is what our future citizens need to read! I am inspired and awed by this author.

[Olena Yurchuk]

Неймовірна історія, неймовірні ілюстрації... Дуже довго не могла її знайти, нещодавно придбала її на Дитячому форумі (видно з далеких запасів видавництва).
Проста історія про віру в себе, мрії і роботою над собою. Обожнюю такі історії!

[Juliaruth readsalot]

Look at this celebration of numbers! The artwork is gorgeous! Flora loves to count and that love starts with the everyday things around her, extending to the impossibility of counting the stars. Whether counting everything you see can be done, loving numbers and math can!

[Ганна Халімон]

Зворушлива, чудово ілюстрована історія

[Erin]

Stars and Poppy Seeds is a picture book by Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv. It features a young girl, Flora, who loves to count. She counts all sorts of things in the world, such as the dandelions she sees while she’s out on a walk, or buttons on people’s coats. One day, she’s looking through a telescope and decides she wants to try and count all the stars.

So, my sister came to me one night and mentioned that a book she wanted to own was on sale. For a bit more than $7AUD, I purchased a hardcover copy of this book for her. When it arrived, I gave it a read for myself. For the plot, I think it has an interesting premise. I think Flora is a pretty positive character, and I admire that she has a fun hobby, and that she loves to count everything. Though, I don’t think the story feels complete. The story basically ends with her wishing she could count all the stars, and her mother tells her that, “You can accomplish anything you set your mind to.” So, it kind of feels like a bland ending, with a stereotypical message of positivity. So, it leaves it up to the reader to imagine the rest of the story; whether she finished counting the stars or not. I think it would have been a bit more interesting if there had been more inclusion of the parents. In the beginning, it mentions that they are mathematicians, so I think it could have been written to perhaps explain to her a bit more about how to count higher, and perhaps help further her counting the stars goal.

My main enjoyment of the book definitely comes from the illustrations. I absolutely adore the creative and often abstract nature of the images. There’s so many great ways that the illustrator has used numbers. And there’s been some really good inclusion of background details on the pages; they’re so full of interesting things to look at.

Overall, I think it was definitely worth the money, because the illustrations are absolutely beautiful to see. The story had an interesting theme, and Flora is a lovely character, but the story felt incomplete, in my opinion.

[Mary]

In May, I wanted to read a book from Ukraine but the only one I could find at my library was this kids book. I added myself to the hold list, and it only just became available. A book about numbers and counting, it’s illustrated beautifully with puzzles and filled with facts. A great read for any kid who likes numbers.

[Mateusz]

A wonderful picture book - like all others by the incredible Romanyshyn and Lesiv.

[Guilherme Semionato]

SPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOVXI...

ENG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI0e9...

[DL]

3.8⭐️

[Austyn]

Translated Children's Books Month! Book 28/50 (Ukrainian)

This book is nice, and the pictures are fabulous, but it is ultimately fairly forgettable. I thought this would be a biography, but it was a fictional account of a girl who likes to count. I also found the translation a bit wonky in some (very minor) places.

[Christie Kaaland]

Romanyshyn and Lesiv have created a unique picture book for that one unique child who's mind is filled with math and questions and wonderings. From a young age Flora's entire life is consumed with counting. She counts everything around her, all day long, and wonders about numbers and quantities of things both living and inanimate. When she realizes the immensity of the stars in the sky, her focus turns to the math of astronomy. There she finds unfathomable, unanswerable infinity and focuses her attention on the sky. This is that one unique book that is match only for that one child, perhaps OCD or perhaps not, but whose passions are unquenchable. The illustrations will appeal to that young reader and back matter further fills the reader with facts about numbers, famous mathematicians, and math museums around the world. What a marvelously unique picture book!

[Ella]

A nice book about counting. Would be good to read to younger children when they are learning about counting in maths. The book has a nice message that you can achieve anything if you take it small steps at a time. The illustrations are very different and interesting to explore. The end of the story has lots of interesting facts relating to numbers and then more about famous mathematicians. This could help to inspire children to be interested in maths.

[Lauren Lees]

Main character is a girl in love with counting and mathematics, great for links with girls and stem subjects. Beautiful illustrations and contains some mathematics facts at the end.

[Edward Sullivan]

The daughter of well-known mathematicians, Flora's greatest ambition is to count all of the stars in the sky.