Counting Wildflowers

by Bruce McMillan

"This carefully planned and executed counting concept book is rich in content....Number concepts 1 through 20 are presented in full-color, high-quality photographs of common field and woodland wildflowers."--School Library Journal.

Genres: Counting, Picture Books, Mathematics, Number

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Kayla Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book "Counting Wildflowers", is a book about how to count. I have chosen to read about counting and how important it is to young learners. The purpose of this book is to instruct the reader how to count. The book is composed of a counting book with pictures of wildflowers, and the images illustrate the numbers one through twenty by using photographs of wildflowers. The book may stand out to young readers or teachers because it is interactive in the sense that there are 20 circles to touch on each page. These circles fill up as the reader looks for flowers on each page. A reader can count the number of flowers in the bloom, and then they can count the number of circles, up to twenty. There is no doubt that repetition is a powerful way to reinforce a skill like counting when you are trying to reinforce a skill like counting. In the early stages of a child's education, counting is one of the most useful skills that they will use for the rest of their lives. Young learners will be able to learn advanced math skills such as addition and subtraction if they are proficient in counting skills. Even though the book only covers the number 20 in the book, its purpose is to become a teaching tool for young learners who are learning the basics of counting and numbers. During week 4, I have chosen the Meobuis article to connect to. According to Meobuis, "but the picturebooks also ask us, "how much do you see"( Moebuis,255). Young learners look at the visuals to see what is happening in the book. When they look, they can determine that there are numbers in the book, most young learners can frame this.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know the work of the author, Bruce McMillan, from my days teaching in the classroom. He wrote other easy math books that made an impact. In Counting Wildflowers, he delivers once again. While an older book (1986), it helps younger children explore counting, colors, and native wildflowers. The simple concept goes from one to twenty. Under a picture of a flower (labeled above), the number is listed, as well as a picture representation of the number and the number written out. While simple, it has several ways to interact with the material, such as color, words, labels, counting, flowers, petal types, etc. At the end is a list of the wildflowers, their scientific names, and where to find them. For example, 17 is Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta: Found June through October in fields, prairies, open woods.


Some flowers included are water lilies, spiderwort, true forget me not, mullein pink, chickweed, maltese cross, day lily, bee balm, wild geranium, and more!

I love the concept of this book! To extend it, I might consider making a nature counting book similar to this, but use pictures of the flower to go on the numbered pages. Perhaps, I'd even put a scrap of paper or fabric with the same color. I also LOVE the idea of making a book like this collaboratively with my children or a group of kids with flowers they know close by. The author is from Maine and, while I know many of the flowers, there were others I still need to learn. I think it would be fun to hunt out these flowers and compile them with one of my favorite young artists to make another book like this that is personalized. Thanks for the inspiration! We could even use the book to go on a nature walk, searching for the various flowers in our book.

I found other ideas to extend the experience. This post gives math extensions. The author also said this about the book, "My college degree is in biology and so when I began work on my first math concept book, Counting Wildflowers(Lothrop), it was also a taxonomy lesson. My editor and I agreed that children would be interested in wildflowers rather than garden flowers. It was a search for wildflowers, which blossom at various times throughout the season. Every species of flower has its own biological clock. That's why I couldn't photograph dandelions-they had already blossomed and gone to seed by the time I began shooting." (Found here.)

http://insideoutsidemichiana.blogspot...

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Includes the numbers 1 through 20 in pictures of wildflowers. The names of the wildflowers are on each page (with information about their habitat in the back) along with the number, the number spelled and dots filled in (in sets of 10), in the color of the flower on that page. Just as with Hoban, multiple representations of the concept on the same page.

[Cana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mommy says : better for the summer before kindergarten.

[Becca Dewey]

A counting book with photographs of wildflowers illustrating the numbers on through twenty.

[Lisa Nagel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice counting book with beautiful pictures that would be great to use in celebrating National Wildflower week May 2-8. Pair with Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney.

[Debra]

K - 2

Counting Book of Photographs of Wildflowers - plants - identifying parts

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pictures of wildflowers that have the number and dots (the size of little pointer fingers) corresponding to how many. In the back of the book, it lists what each flower is called.