Ten Dragon Eggs: A Book About Counting Down

by Lynda Graham-Barber, Jeffrey Ebbeler (Illustrator)

A fun and dragon-filled countdown of numbers 10 through 1

Mama Dragon is tending to ten colorful eggs, and she needs our help to hatch them all! Shim-shim-shimmy shout! Baby draglings, please come out! Count down from ten with Mama Dragon as each of her draglings jiggles, thumps, and KER-ACKS their way into the world.

Young readers will delight in meeting each little dragling as they hatch. Portrayed with plenty of personality and humor, this is a perfect pick for celebrating parent-child relationships while learning about color, numbers, and ordinal vocabulary. The book's lively refrain is sure to inspire many spirited story times.

Genres: Picture Books, Dragons, Mathematics, Counting, Childrens, Fantasy

40 pages, Hardcover

Published July 18, 2023

About the author

Lynda Graham-Barber's abiding passions for writing and animals have intermingled for four-decades, as children's book editor, writing teacher, author of thirteen books, and animal rights advocate. The author, who holds an MFA in writing for children from Vermont College, lives in a small stone cottage, which she helped build, situated on 160 wooded acres in the Northeast Kingdom, Vermont, with her artist husband David and their rescued dog Biscuit.

Reviews

[Steph]

Turn/Level: 1/3

Dragons, Counting down from 10

Have the kids say the shim shim shimmy shout bit with you, and try and predict what kind of dragon is hatched next.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Counting books for youngsters are abundant, but some are simply just better or more visually appealing than others. With its mother dragon and her emerging offspring, this one--3.5 for me-- has plenty of kid appeal but also some attraction for the adults who will most likely need to read it several times with their young charges. The colorful acrylic artwork that fills the pages completely shows the patient mother dragon growing increasingly weary as she warms egg after egg, starting with ten and counting down to zero. Each dragon seems to have different physical characteristics and personalities, and the rhyming text is fun to read, filled as it is with mouth-filling phrases such as "Shim-shim-shimmy-shout!' and "Jiggle-jiggle-wiggle-free" (unpaged), lines that are sure to make their way into listeners' ears and out of their own mouths at some future point. The use of very large font and action-packed scenes--and yes, these births ARE action-packed; after all, they're dragons--helps this one rise above the pack, especially since there's a surprise for readers and for that mother dragon in the end.

[Sierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review:

I enjoyed this story for the most part! The only thing I thought was weird (though I am an adult and I’m sure a kid wouldn’t care about this) was the baby dragons coming out of the eggs dressed. And not all of them had items of clothing when coming out, but quite a few did.

Otherwise, the story would be really fun for a child! There is a phrase that’s repeated throughout the story (to encourage the baby dragons to hatch) that the book encourages the reader to say aloud. It would be fun with a child who loves dragons and wants to see what kind of dragon will hatch next from the eggs. It’s also great for kids who like counting and keeping track of how many eggs hatched verses the ones that haven’t yet.

Summary:

A mama dragon is eagerly waiting for her dragonlings to hatch. Can you help her count them as they do?

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mama Dragon's eggs are hatching! It's time to see (and count) all the draglings.
I love the concept of this book! It's so cute to count with Mama and see all the adorable baby dragons.

But ... it does drag on. Pun intended. It counts down ... including the egg colors and the positional numbers (first, second, etc.). All these concepts are great! But it's a lot of concepts in one book for little ones. I also appreciated the refrain to say together (but again it's another layer of stuff in the book). It was long for my storytime littles, even with the refrain and added movements. I couldn't cut it short because it's a counting book.

This might do better in early elementary.

2023 storytime theme: Ten

Reviewed from a library copy.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mother dragon is helping her eggs hatch by breathing fire on them. Each baby dragling is a little bit different. As they hatch, we learn how many have hatched and how many are left.

First of all, Jeffrey Ebbler's illustrations are so fun. The baby dragons are cute and silly, and mother dragon's face as she runs out of fire is so funny. The story, however, AJ didn't love. She felt it was confusing. Instead of actually counting down, the story told how many were hatched and how many were left, so there were 2 things going on at once. We don't feel it's really a counting book.

[Bekka · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up

5 stars for illustrations
3.5 stars for plot
2 stars for counting aspect (which is why I was initially interested in the book)

I agree with other reviewers that because multiple things are going on at once, the counting aspect of the book may be hard to keep track of. Also, the rhyme is a bit forced in places. I plan on using the book for a counting-themed storytime. Overall, this is a cute book and should please dragon lovers.

[Javier Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved it. We got it from the library and I read to my preschool class (around 3 y/o). Kids (and me) love dragons so the art it's interesting for everyone, they kept asking about each dragon's appearance.
It's also good if you want to introduce Spanish vocabulary to them. (Numbers, colors, ordinal numbers, etc...)
So I'll probably will get a copy of my own for my collection. I really recommend it if you are an educator.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rhyme scheme sometimes feels forced, and the book is overly repetitive with the ongoing refrains. This feels too long for kids who are just learning to count, but doesn't have a story to engage older kids. However, the illustrations are creative and I liked the ending.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the repeated phrases and the counting element, and the chance for kids to interact by pretending to blow fire. The illustrations were cute too--though some of the baby dragons have weird faces, haha.

[Kellee Moye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will be a read aloud favorite! With wonderful rhyming text, great rhythm, vibrant illustrations, and lessons in counting and colors, both adult and child will enjoy their time with this book.

[Ad Astra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun book. It's all about counting but the illustrations and the story made it fun for me as a parent to read over and over again. Different types of baby dragons being born makes it exciting to turn the page. Also, the mom dragon gets tired- and what parent couldn't relate to that?

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful story of a mother dragon whose breathing fire on her 10 eggs to help them hatch. Each dragan is beautifully different and there is a countdown of how many eggs are left as each one hatches. The last egg contains a surprise! Everyone will love this book!

[Meghan Bohn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have some questions about genetics and mating strategies at Snapdragon Cove....
Anyways, some of the art is cute, but the rhyme scheme feels forced at times.

[Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute counting book with lovely illustrations and DRAGONS!

[Catie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A counting book involving hatching dragon eggs. I thought it was cute, aimed at toddlers learning to count backwards.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has really pretty illustrations but I think it is a bit long for a counting book.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun use of language; kids like to join in on the "chant" phrase; adorable dragons.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story but WHY aren't the dragons the same color as their eggs?? Especially for another dragon to come out that is the same color as an already existing egg?

[Amy]

Fun math concept book that explores "take away one" counting down from 10. I thought it was a little wordy but liked the use of a repeating phrase throughout the story.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute

[Ashlin Edmisten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book for lap reading, a bit long for storytime but could be abridged.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

This colorful and finely detailed book will teach counting up and counting down in a way that delights little readers.

[Kes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustrations. Kid loved it. Great for gifting 2-3 year olds.

[Danica Midlil · Rating 2 out of 5]

4 stars for pictures!
2 stars for rhyme inconsistency
1 star for baby dragons popping out of eggs with...clothes? The author couldn't think of anything else biological to say about their unusual little bodies? It had to be a ring on its toe, mama-sized (???) shoes, or pajamas? Seriously?

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.