Quack and Count

by Keith Baker

Playful, rhyming text and bold collage illustrations capture the excitement of a day's adventure as a family of lively ducklings slip, slide, leap, and dive--grouping themselves in all the different combinations that add up to seven.

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

24 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Please see: Keith Baker


Keith Baker lives in Seattle. He has written and illustrated many acclaimed picture books for young children, including the New York Times bestselling LMNO Peas; 1-2-3 Peas; Little Green Peas; Hap-pea All Year; LMNO Pea-quel; My Octopus Arms; and No Two Alike.

Reviews

[Jordyn Matthews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quack and Count, written by Keith Baker, is a math picture book that can help children learn how to count and use addition. It is based on 7 ducklings and on each page, the ducklings are split into different numbers that all add up to 7 to represent an addition equation. The children must come up with different addition equations or use counting to figure out how many ducklings there are. This book is something that could easily be incorporated into my future classroom by using it in a math lesson for my students.

The illustrations are done with cut-paper collage which makes the ducklings pop out and become the main focal point of each page. This is a good technique for a children's addition book because it will make it easier for children to count up the objects if they are front and center in the illustrations. This made the book more interesting for me to read because the illustrations were bright and popped out of the page.

[Emma Tagliamonte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quack and Count, written by Keith Baker, is a playful counting book featuring seven little ducklings. It uses rhyming text and colorful illustrations to introduce children to basic addition though exploring all the different ways the seven ducklings can be grouped together. Each page shows the different ways the ducklings have fun together, and shows combinations that add up to seven, such as two plus five or three plus four. Quack and Count is a great book that makes mathematical concepts engaging and accessible for young learners.
This book is designed for children ages 1-6, targeting a developmental range that typically includes preschool to first grade students. Quack and Count aligns with the learning progression for counting by using visual representations that engage children with the concept of number combinations. The ducklings in the story serve as manipulatives that children can count, helping them develop an understanding of the correspondence of numbers. It gets students working on counting by ones and using a visual representation, the ducklings, to strengthen their skills. It encourages students to think of addition as combining smaller sets into a larger whole. An interactive classroom activity for this book could be giving students cut-out ducks and have them make the number combinations that they hear while reading the book. This would help them strengthen their number correspondence and see that whole numbers can be broken up into smaller parts.

[Cameron Becnel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quack and Count is a mathematical book written and illustrated by Keith Baker. The book is about counting with math problems with rhyming involved in the writing. It starts with 7 ducks and then continues with math problems like 5 plus 2 and 3 plus 4 that all equal to 7. The illustrations are all made with cut-paper which gives the ducks and background looking very detailed with its colorful visuals. This simple math book is great for pre-k to 1st grade students as they can learn some math by counting each duck from each page and how to add the number of ducks together to equal 7. It’s a great introduction to any young reader learning some math along with rhyming as a bonus. I give this book a 3.5 for being a simple book with detailed illustrations, some math lessons, plus some rhyming.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this book and my almost three year old was engaged the entire time. I teach elementary math and am a firm believer in developing strong early number sense as a foundation for later work.

This book is especially good for children working on their understanding of 1:1 correspondence, addition as the joining of sets and decomposition of numbers.

The pictures are cut paper collage. They are very appealing and clearly the result of a lot of careful work. I could really see this book being used across disciplines in the classroom.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cut paper collage illustrations are beautiful in this title and in every double paper illustration if one looks closely one discovers a tiny beetle or a snail or a frog tucked in between the ducks and the flowers and foliage.
Now the counting concept of this title is actually not one to one counting, but the illustrations show combinations of numbers that add up to seven. Yes, there are seven ducks and in a very visual was the number combination equaling to seven is illustrated and the illustrations do that very well.
In the true sense of the word counting, this is not a counting book.

[Mariah Everett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very impressed with this book! It may seem simple but the illustrations are fantastic, and the mathematical ideas presented are actually quite complex for K-2. For example, understanding that 6+1=7 and that 1+6=7 as well. In the classroom I would read this book and record each new problem as it comes up onto an anchor chart. Each time, I would have kids count the ducks to find that 4 ducks plus 3 ducks still equals seven and vice versa. The result would be a chart that reflects that new discovery.

[Katie Renner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is the perfect book for the preschool age groups. This book gets kids familiar with adding numbers, and keeping track of those numbers. Students get to see all the different ways you an get to the number seven. Students get to use the pictures for help, and count out the baby ducklings.

Through this book kids get to see ducklings go on an adventure, and they have to keep track of the ducklings. This author using rhyming to keep kids attention, and help them to remember what is happening.

[Amanda Badgett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book would be good to use in a classroom where you are trying to teach children how to count. This book is very bright and fun with its artwork which allows the readers to have fun with the counting aspect of the book. It would also be a good book to use if you are teaching simple addition. It is an easy to read book with excellent illustrations.

[Jasmine Arizpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so fun and creative for introducing young readers who are interested and wanting to learn more on math. I personally feel like this book would be a great math introduction for kindergarten through second grade. The author and illustrator did such an amazing job in making this book. Overall, I thought that this book was so good and made it easy to incorporate it into the classroom.

[Obryanna Valencia]

I like this book because it involves adding numbers. It explains it in student-friendly terms. I believe this book would be for kindergarten and first-grade level. It consists in adding numbers 4, 5, 2, and 3. This lesson can be easily expanded by involving higher numbers. We can also include math manipulatives as a visual.

[Taylor McDiffett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book would be good to use in a classroom where you are trying to teach children how to count. It would also be a good book to use if you are teaching simple addition. It is an easy to read book with excellent illustrations.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be great to use when teaching a lesson on counting and teaching basic addition facts to your K-1st grade students. This book is an easy read and you can also discuss the different rhyming words that you find in this book with your students.

[Jennilee Angeski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for younger ages, but creates a fun story to identify the MANY ways you create 7 (6+1, 5+2, etc.). I think this would be the perfect book to create a lesson or game to introduce some of the important math concepts for learning!

[Peyton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to use in your classroom when you are teaching your students how to count, and do simple addition problems.

[MaKenzie Reiff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was given to me by a guest speaker, who was teaching about implementing reading into math. This book taught counting. The illustrations were very cute as well.

[Goshen PL Childrens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read at Storytime March 28, 2018
Theme: Bunnies, Chicks, and Ducklings

Another addition and subtraction concept.

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

Really cool art! Like paper cuttings or something.

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more unique counting book where there are always 7 ducks but you add them up differently (i.e. 1+6 or 5+2, etc). Great to start teaching preK kids simple addition.

[Alyssa Gudenburr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book about ducks and all the ways to make 7! A perfect Duck storytime book.

[Jenn Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute counting books. Works well, I'm a sucker for ducks

[Sonal · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A toddler and up book about the activities of seven ducks with different ways to count them.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would go well with ten frames.

[Christine Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Counting Storytime

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun picture book involving seven ducks, and the many ways to count them in rhyming text.

[Sharrell Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book because it implies how smaller kids needs reading and math. How I would add this to my classroom is by going over the book a couple times so they can understand it.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Counting book with 7 ducks. The text rhymes and teaches children how to add a bit. The illustrations are mixed media (a mix of drawn and cut out/pasted kind of art).

[Nadina · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's cute, I like the illustrations, I do feel this book is better suited to telling in smaller groups due to the counting/adding aspect. It is harder to do in a large group storytime.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Read aloud by himself at 4yo, no words missed)

[Catalina Sanchez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute book that introduces math concepts to children. It's about seven ducklings who play and explore together, and the story is told through simple rhyming text. The illustrations are vibrant and engaging which makes it appealing for young readers. It's a fun way to help kids learn to count and understand the concept of addition. I recommend this book for children ages 3 to 6 years old.