Teeth, Tails, & Tentacles: An Animal Counting Book

by Christopher Wormell

With his trademark colorful and compelling images of animals both familiar and exotic, acclaimed British illustrator, Christopher Wormell, brings a uniquely artful point of view to the traditional counting book. Wormell's inventive approach to illustrating the numbers from 1 to 20 highlights intriguing parts, behaviors, or features of specific animals, rather than simply increasing the numbers of the animals themselves. This new perspective presents an opportunity for further parent-child exploration of the animal-How many legs does the camel have? What color is the ladybug?-in keeping with the current trend toward interdisciplinary education for the very young.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Mathematics, Counting, Number, Childrens, Nature

64 pages, Hardcover

First published August 11, 2004

About the author

Christopher Wormell is an English printmaker, principally known for his illustrated books.

Reviews

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 3 out of 5]

6* art
3* words/numbers concept

[Ms Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://smithlitblog.wordpress.com/20...

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a number book, illustrating 1 through 20 with beautiful engravings.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully illustrated counting book from 1 to 20. It is a great book to use to teach counting, but not for children four years and younger.

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for next level counting. Counting legs and arms

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect baby gift!

[Elle · Rating 2 out of 5]

The block print illustrations were a unique style for this counting book.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary (CIP): The first portion of the work is a counting book covering the numbers one to twenty with block prints of animals. The second portion of the work has factual information concerning the animals.

REVIEW: This awarding-winning animal counting book presents 20 animals in wonderfully luminous linocut prints. The author uses a unique concept of counting, not multiples of an animal, but parts of animals – 5 starfish arms, 10 bear claws, or 19 shark teeth, allowing for deeper observation of detail. Check out the changing colors (3) of the chameleon. The prints are repeated in several end pages with facts about each animal, and then again, in miniature form, perhaps for flashcards. A beautiful unique counting book that can be used at many levels.

SLJ: Positive. "Younger children will enjoy the concept book aspect, while older kids can study the artistry of the illustrations and learn a little more about each animal."

Booklist: Starred Review. "Far from a simple counting manual, this dramatic picture-book offering places children face-to-face with 20 animals from across the world, one animal at a time... A great book to use across the curriculum."

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. Genre: Counting
2. A fun way to illustrate numbers 1-20, wild animals help represent each number.
3. Critique
a. Area for Comment: Interdisciplinary nature of the book
b. This book does not simply add an additional animal to demonstrate the higher number, but uses different characteristics and habits of wild animals to show how the amount represented by the number may occur in nature.
c. Beginning with a rhino, which has only one horn, to a ladybug with seven spots, and a deer with 12 branches on his antlers, each number is represented in a realistic, natural way. This can help students connect numbers with tangible, true events in life and nature. Additionally, most children are fascinated with nature and animals, so this book blends science with math as these naturally occurring species display how numbers play a part in their lives, too.
4. As stated above, math and science play a part in this book and could connect to either curriculum. The students could go on a nature walk to see how many objects they can count in their own natural surroundings. Perhaps there is a certain type of tree that grows outside the school, or different flowers, or maybe even a bird’s nest with eggs. The possibilities are endless!

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

1 rhinoceros horn, 2 camel humps, 3 chameleon colors, 4 giraffe legs, 5 starfish arms, 6 frog eyes, 7 black spots on a ladybug... Christopher Wormell's gorgeously detailed Teeth, Tails, &Tentacles - An Animal Counting Book helps the reader count from one through twenty - each page featuring a different animal part (including 16 catfish whiskers and 19 crocodile teeth).

Each image is a gorgeously rendered wood print with a pleasing mix of Warhol's pop art style and incredible attention to detail. Teeth, Tails, & Tentacles concludes with a brief discussion of the natural history of each of the animals in the book.

This is an excellent book to help a young person learn their numbers, appreciate excellent art, and develop an interest in the animals that fill the natural world.

This review and more like it available at http://bibliopapa.blogspot.com/2014/0...

[Shanna Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Wormell presents an unusual animal counting book, diverging from tired old counting themes by choosing an array of lesser-studied animals whose characteristics illustrate the numeric concepts. Three frogs peer from the surface of a pond, providing six eyes to be counted; a bear looks off into the distance, his two paws perfectly placed around a tree trunk so ten claws may be counted. A diamond rattler slithers onto the page, presenting eighteen diamonds for examination. This is one of the best kinds of counting books, with concrete objects from the world presented along with their numeric parallel (in numerals and text), and illustrations that are interesting in their own right. This book will be interesting to preschoolers, and is especially good for an early-elementary audience.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bold, linoleum-block prints growl, hiss, and squawk from the page. Both counting book and animal non-fiction, this book is a good pick for preschool and elementary aged animal lovers and artists.

CIP:The first portion of the work is a counting book covering the numbers one to twenty with block prints of animals. The second portion of the work has factual information concerning the animals.

"This dramatic picture-book offering places children face-to-face with 20 animals from across the world."Booklist

"Younger children will enjoy the concept book aspect, while older kids can study the artistry of the illustrations and learn a little more about each animal."School Library Journal

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Description: This book teaches children how to count by using the animal kingdom. For example, on one page you might see 1 rhino horn, but on another page you might see 20 barnacles on a humpback whale.

Curriculum Connection:

Personal Reaction: What a great book to read to your child at home. There are so many questions that can be asked, such as: How many legs does the camel have? and What color is the ladybug?

Visual Appeal: The cover shows a beautiful picture of a crocodile, who has teeth, tails and tenacles--the perfect cover. Inside the pages show compelling images of both familiar and exotic animals. The author uses color and animals to make counting fun and exciting.

Genre: Picture Book/Counting

Intended Audience: Ages 2-5

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teeth, Tails & Tentacles by Christopher Wormell has a striking title and cover. The title alone was enough for me to seek it out when looking for titles for the second of two projects in the materials for children ages 5 to 8 class I took in 2011.

Christopher Wormell makes his own woodcuts to create bold illustrations with eye catching details ready for counting. The book goes through twenty different animals and invites children to count one to twenty by looking at specific details on an animal (the spots of a ladybug or the diamonds on a rattlesnake, and so forth).

The book includes an appendix that gives facts about each of the animals as well as the author's artistic process.

[Fara Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teeth, Tails, and Tentacles
Wormell, C. (2004). Teeth, tails & tentacles: An animal counting book. Philadelphia, PA: Running Press Kids.
Counting
Starred Review ALA(Booklist)
This is a wonderful animal counting book. It is not your normal animal counting book where you count the animals but where the reader counts animal attributes. The pictures have a great, strong textures and the book uses out of the box ideas for counting. At the end of the book there is a great reference for background knowledge of the animals to encourage further learning. This is a great book for emerging readers(PreK-3rd)

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teeth, Tails, & Tentacles goes through number 1 to 20. For each number, there is a picture of an animal. For example, one pages says "seven black spots on a ladybug." On the opposite page there is a ladybug with seven black spots. The text is in large black font on a white background. The illustrations are straightforward and colorful with heavy outlines and very little shading. At the end of the book is a description of each of the individual animals featured in the book.

Recommended for grades preschool - kindergarten

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! It's nice to see a counting book that boys can enjoy too. I love the bold illustrations and dangerous animals, the book itself is just beautiful. In the back there's also additional information about the specific animals featured in the book so if you're doing a preschool and toddler story time you can share some of the facts with the older children to keep them interested.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will hopefully soon be added to our family library. The linoleum-block prints are fabulous; I wish I understood how they were done. Adriene really enjoys counting in each picture, the numbers are well displayed, and it has a well-written information section about the animals in the pictures. It is wonderful counting practice!

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful, richly illustrated book that teaches about counting and animals in a simple way. My boy loves it. The basic instruction about number is wonderful, but the author has gone a step further and given us a short paragraph on each animal featured. This is a gem of a book that engages little boys and uses their interest in reptiles and insects to teach numbers. Highly recommended.

[Tamara E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great counting book. It uses characteristics from different animals such as; counting the humps on the camel, or the claws on a bear. It counts up to 20 which given that Common Core Standards want Kindergarteners to count to 100, this is a good start. In the back of the book, the children can read for additional information. Very clever to combine a concept book with an expository piece.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

What appears to be a simple counting concept book using animals turns into a beautifully illustrated fact-filled informational text! Instead of increasing the number of animals to represent a number, features of an animal are used like the seven black spots on a ladybug. The back of the book contains a paragraph about each animal featuring it's habitat and other facts.

[Alex Housman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this alphabet book. The illustrations are deeply outlined in black which draws attention to the illustrations. I really liked how at the end of this alphabet book there are informational segments of each animal listed throughout the book. This will allow for deeper discussion with children.

[Katy Houseman]

Wonderful book about counting, numbers, and science. This book uses features, characteristics, and known facts about animals to teach counting. Children who love animals will never want to put this book down. It has beautiful illustrations and provides facts about each animal in the book.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool woodcut-style illustrations. We were drawn in by the title, and happy to see that it really is all about teeth, tails, and tentacles.

[Anne Nydam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful!

[Nojood Alsudairi · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Animal counting book. Rich. Children might not like the colors.

[Theresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

a great book about counting to supplement the math classroom with relative reading character

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

an early learning book

[Huda Fel · Rating 3 out of 5]

liked the idea, hated the illustrations!
first published in 2004!? is that right?!

[Debra]

K - 3

Counting book has animal's parts (19 teeth) and information about animals at the end.

Animals