From one newborn foal walking on wobbly legs and five open-billed nestlings eager for food to eleven children playing in the park and twelve church bells ringing, this lovely picture book celebrates spring, Easter, and new life. Joy N. Hulme and Dan Andreasen, who created the beautiful Stable in Bethlehem , once again capture the spirit of a holiday and a season. Hulme’s gentle rhyme and Andreasen’s softly-hued, charming pictures work in perfect harmony, and the adorable bunnies, fuzzy yellow chicks, and frolicking lambs will enchant children.
Ultra-adorable, as you would expect from the cover. Pretty spring-time, green and flowers everywhere? Check! Super cute baby animals? Check! Pleasant rhymes? Check! Doubles as a counting book? Check! But perhaps the point that bumped this up to four stars for me is that it so carefully walks the line between secular and Christian and could thus be a fine choice for read-aloud with a group of children. There isn't anything specifically Easter related until the last few pages where we see children on an Easter egg hunt, and then the church bells ringing out for Easter day. There's a nice overall message that could easily be interpreted in a secular or Christian way. Probably a three-star book for my enjoyment level but I do appreciate the work and can see it working very well for certain audiences.
I love the premise - all the life that is born with spring - and how it's tied into counting: 1 horse, 2 chickens, etc. And the illustrations are simply adorable!
That said, sometimes the rhymes didn't 100% flow for me, but that wouldn't stop me from recommending this sweet and charming little book :)
A counting picture book of newborn animals in springtime on the farm, written in couplets. The soft illustrations, by Dan Andreasen, are a combination of digital art and traditional oil paint. Ages 1-3.
Used this for "Farm babies" storytime. This has short sentences on each page. Cute pics and a focus on counting the animals. This could also be a good book for a flannel board activity.
A wonderful rhyming and counting book depicting the signs of spring. Beautifully illustrated. There is so much you can use this book for: rhyming, counting, signs of the spring season, learning baby animal names and so much more. in my child care, we expanded to learning the baby animal parents’ names (kitten/cat, piglet/pig, etc.), animal sounds, and coming up with our own ideas of what reminds us of the spring season.