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August 2014: Counting Books (Discuss Our Club Reads Here)
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Good choices. Any picture book is going to be on my favorite list.
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Another warning, depending on you and your child, there's a lot more to The Rabbit Problem than most toddlers can appreciate. Try it with your older children or your spouse!
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Yes, the other gorilla book ("One Gorilla: A Counting Book") looks marvelous, too. I would have been happy with either, but my library had only the Browne one so that decided it ;-)
I'm glad we found some counting books to interest older readers, too. I'm curious about "Rabbit" even more now.
I just used Count the Monkeys earlier this week at Story Time and it was a huge hit with a lot of giggles and laughs.
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Hooray! :-) I'm really looking forward to reading it to my son, even though he's a bit young for counting still.
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*I really need to think of an alternative to "expressive/expressions" but my sixteen-month-old is also getting his molars in and I am quite sleep deprived, so this will have to do for now!
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Favorites at my house:Mine:
This book was so beautiful! I loved the illustrations with the little girl in the gorgeous Japanese gardens. I loved the items picked for counting, and the subtext that gave a bit more information on the importance or history of each item. I also loved that the story was told in haiku, this would be a perfect book not only for counting or Japanese culture, but also as an introduction to this form of poetry.My daughter, 5:
I love it when books suggest actions, and they definitely made my daughter giggle every time. I think we read this book 6 or 7 times in a row. I'm not sure because I refused to keep reading after 4 and she took the book to her dad to read. It is now "hiding" in her bed so I can't take it back to the library. Every night I hear giggling and counting as she "reads" the book to her dolls and stuffies. (Music to my ears, by the way, having my kid stay up late reading).The rest:
Musk Ox is so funny! I love books like this that take a simple concept (counting) and add some snarky humor that can keep older kids interested, too!
So my mom works in a zoo, and I really wanted to send this book to her! I loved the illustrations, and so did my 5-year old.
I agree with Kathryn about the expressive eyes of all of the monkeys. I absolutely loved lingering over each of the pictures as I counted up. However, I had some issues with the human aspect at the end, so it kind of ruined the book for me.
This was cute, but not super engaging for my daughter. As my grandfather was Lebanese, I also especially enjoyed the inclusion of the Arabic numbers.
I love it when children's books take a concept, like numbers, and pick something that is a little "off the beaten track." This is a great "counting" tale for older kids using the Fibonacci sequence. Couldn't get:
A few came in earlier and August has finally hit the library and I've been able to look or re-look at a couple.One Leaf Rides the Wind. The end of last month I hosted a program "Japan-in-a-Suitcase," so this was quite enjoyable. I also enjoy books that can be read on different levels. Plus, the fact that you can recommend it for a young Japan request or a garden request or counting makes this a wonderful book to be acquainted with as a Children's Librarian. I gave it 4 stars.
One Gorilla I also found Browne's illustrations beautiful. I wonder if those who found the human aspect at the end jarring, would have found an illustration of a child less so? As an Anthropology major it didn't bother me, but a co-worker said she probably would have found a child's face more palatable. Four stars for me.
The Rabbit Problem I haven't been able to read this in depth yet, but it certainly looks like a lot of fun. It appeals to my librarian multi-fill-the-bill characteristic with the calendar, Fibonacci(math), rabbits...
Still waiting to get Musk Ox Counts, the other 4 we don't have.
Museum 123. This is perhaps my favorite so far!My review: I loved this beautiful counting book featuring artwork from the Met. Each page starts with a question written partially in bold, colorful print...for example, "How many kittens follow their mother?" On the facing page is a piece of artwork. On the next page, there are four more small pictures of artwork that also share that same number and on the facing page the number written as a numeral and as a word. I appreciate that a wide variety of types of artwork (mask, quilt, paintings, embroidery, lithographs, even a detail from an Egyptian coffin) were included. I was also pleased to see that artists from many backgrounds were represented. It wasn't a perfect selection...no Central or South American artists, most pieces were pretty realistic (which makes sense...many surreal pieces of artwork would be hard to count objects), and more American artists than any other nationality. However, I still felt it was a great selection...and think it is wonderful for children to be exposed to so many types of art. I wish I could go visit the Met... and the Louvre...(Been to each one time and would love to go back.)
The Rabbit Problem. My copy from the library has a very different cover from the one pictured. Enjoyed this a lot.
My review: I thought this was a cute and clever way to introduce children to the Fibonacci sequence. My children (ages 6, 9 and 11) enjoyed the lift up flaps, the newspaper, and the illustrations. They were surprised by how quickly the rabbit family grew...and wanted to know if it was factual. We discussed that rabbit populations do grow quickly, but some rabbits would die or leave the field and parents wouldn't always have exactly two babies, one boy and one girl. I am not certain this would be the greatest read aloud for a class full of children because some of the information was quite small and it is a bit lengthy if you read all of the information. But if you could use an ELMO or similar projector and project it onto a SMART board or screen, then it could make a very engaging math book for a classroom.
One Gorilla. Love the illustrations of the different primates. Really wonderful pictures. This is a perfect book for young children, and even older children and adults can appreciate the artwork. However, I wished there was more text, text that gave more information about each primate...even if in the form of footnotes or an author's note (or a brief blurb about each at the end like in Steve Jenkins' books.). It would have made it more enjoyable for my older children.
Musk Ox Counts. Very funny counting book...Musk Ox keeps appearing on the wrong pages and messing up the counting, much to Zebra's consternation. My children all enjoyed this, even my 11 year old. How Many Donkeys?: An Arabic Counting Tale. Great multicultural counting book. My children thought Jouha was rather silly for neglecting to count the donkey he is riding. Fun to learn to count to ten in Arabic ...and especially neat that you can hear the author count to 10 on her website. I appreciated the author's note that explained the basis of Juha's character in Middle Eastern folk tales.
Count the Monkeys. The narrator wants us to count the monkeys, but 1 king cobra has scared off the monkeys. But certainly the monkeys will be on the next page, won't they? My children had fun guessing which animals would appear (there were definitely some surprises). Humorous counting book that is quite interactive. This would be PERFECT for a preschool or kindergarten read aloud.
I've checked out Count Them While You Can, but I haven't read it yet. I have placed a hold on Abigail and One Leaf Rides the Wind but they haven't come yet. So far this has been yet another great month with great discussion.
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I would pair this with non-fiction about primates, because I'm sure readers will have questions. For example, the chimps look different, despite being clearly of the same immediate family, just like I look different from Naomi Campbell. But the spider monkeys, I think, represent actual different species or at least subspecies - they look more different. I think the message of Browne's book would be diluted with an author's science note, but at the same time I sympathize with those who wanted one.
And I gotta wonder about Browne's self-image. The self-portrait in here gives him a longer face than he really has. And he never shows his teeth when he smiles. Is he shy or insecure like Willy? I hope that he knows that the world is a better place because he's sharing his talent with us.
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My review: I loved this beautiful counting book featuring artwork from the Met. Each page starts with a question written partially ..."
Oh, it sounds marvelous!
Those who enjoyed this book might also like Museum ABC
And Julie Merberg's series.
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I recommend encouraging your library to get it, if they don't have it yet, as it hits so many collection goals (multicultural, poetry, art, even a little science).
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I found the text a bit too monotonous for my own personal tastes, but I believe that for younger children, especially if this book is used as a read or sing aloud activity, the very repetitiveness of the rhyming sequence would likely not only help practice the numbers, but also reinforce both the names and habits of the ten endangered animal species featured.
The lush and wonderfully intricate, realistic illustrations not only bring each of the ten species and their habits, their struggles, to life on the page, they also help to furhter reinforce the numbers, as each number featured corresponds to the quantity of baby animals illustrated. I also think that it was/is brilliant of Anne Bowman to feature not just adult animals, but family units (adults and their offspring). One cannot deny the "cuteness factor" of baby animals and anything that even somewhat helps to make children (and their parents as well, of course) more aware of the plight of many animals species, of the fact that there are animal species in imminent danger of extinction, is a very very good thing indeed.
While Count Them While You Can is, of course, first and foremost a book for younger children (ages three to five perhaps), the fact that Anne Bowman has also provided much supplemental (and scientifically detailed) information and data about the ten species of endangered animals (as well as information on endangered species in general) makes this book also a useful tool for discussing extinction, conservation etc. with slightly older children (who might not be all that partial to reading or singing the actual text, the song, but might well be curious about the habitats, sizes, eating habits, threats etc. of the ten featured species). Highly recommended!
Museum 123 is a great counting book for the little ones and maybe some bigger ones too. Straightforward but still intriguing enough to have the older children stop and reflect for a while on what we are looking for in the pictures. And the adults, I’m sure, will be pleased as well to discover some new art among old favorites.One Gorilla again is perfect for the crowd you would think the counting books are designed for. The different primates look very real and … yes, human. All the same, it occurred to me whether the last page was a little “gutsy” for a young children’s picture book considering that for some parents this whole “evolutionary” thing is somewhat taboo. But cool, very cool!
How Many Donkeys? was okay, I thought it was neat to learn to count to ten in arabic and also to see how they read from right to left. The story was a bit redundant, in my opinion, I wasn’t wild about it.
Musk Ox Counts was one we’d read a while ago, but I found it again to see if it was still as good. I think it is, but my son remarked that the Musk Ox alphabet book was really the better of the two, and I agreed.
Too bad we couldn’t find Abigail, that one had sparked my interest. But we got One Leaf Rides the Wind and really enjoyed it. The pictures are really, really pretty, as are the haikus. It was exotic enough for my son to want to dwell on some of the pictures and ask about them, and finally he LOVED the last page spread with all the numbers gathered and went over it again and again. And this even though we’re quite past the age of counting books now.
But that’s also why The Rabbit Problem was so much fun for us. There was so much to discuss in it and so many gimmicks to marvel over. I think it should easily have appeal all the way up to middle school, if I’m not mistaken.
Count the Monkeys is a hilarious romp, one of my favorite books from last year, and it’s not a one joke book like so many of those supposedly funny ones.
And finally, Count Them While You Can . . . was probably the biggest surprise in this selection of books. The realistically drawn animals in watercolor are quite mesmerizing, and my son was fascinated with all the facts on habitat, reproduction and level of endangerment. It was both a touching and informative book, and a pleasure to read aloud. I suppose it is aimed at younger kids, but my just-turned-six guy got a lot out of it and I think it would be great in a K/1 classroom.
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This is a silly, humorous Arabian folktale, in which the silly father always forgets to count the donkey on which he is sitting. The repetition of counting in Arabic on every other page will reinforce and help young children remember the Arabic numbers from 1 through 10. The humorous, colorful illustrations are a perfect fit for the text. I especially like the puzzled look on the face of the father every time he thinks a donkey is lost.
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What a great idea for a counting book! The author keeps promising monkeys to count, but other creatures show up instead. The story is also a bit interactive as readers are given instructions when they turn some of the pages. Finally, monkeys appear on the back end pages, and children can count more than 39 of them. (Back flap glued down in library book -GRRR!) A lot of fun, with humorous cartoon illustrations, this would be a good book to share with a group.
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This fantastic book is formatted like a one-year wall calendar. One side is the picture, and the other side is the month with the days marked off in squares. The book even has a hole drilled through it, for hanging as a wall calendar. Starting off with one rabbit in January, the rabbit population has exploded by November, where the month side is completely covered in rabbits. In several of the months, there are added attractions, like a newsletter, a carrot recipe book, birth certificates, etc. The final page has a fantastic pop-up of all the rabbits. The cute cartoon illustrations are, as described on the verso: "rendered in oil based pencil-watercolor paint and carrots." This is one of the most fun ways to learn about the Fibonacci sequence ever.
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I can't get Museum 123 but I did pick up Museum ABC today and will share my thoughts soon.
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I read One Leaf Rides the Wind. This counting book is absolutely lovely. The illustrations are tranquil and just beautiful. We enjoyed the haiku about the elements of the Japanese garden. I also appreciated the short note at the bottom of each page giving more information. My children and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
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Gundula wrote: "I think it's pretty brave for for Anthony Browne in One Gorilla to have added that last bit (both brave and since I do believe in evolution, correct to a point) ..."I had to go look up where Anthony Browne was from (United Kingdom), in the context of which I guess his last pages are not nearly as cheeky. I had been thinking in terms of an American audience, but I wouldn't imagine a book like this stirring any controversy in Europe.
Meanwhile, on this side of the pond, my husband (who works in cancer research) has been chastised at family gatherings for making the claim dogs had evolved from wolves ...
I really love Anthony Browne (my favorites are probably Willy the Dreamer and The Shape Game) but I normally wouldn't call his illustrations beautiful. However, in One Gorilla I found them eerily fascinating.
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The fact that he is from the UK makes a big difference I think, as you are right, I don't think the ending would likely be all that controversial in Europe (at least no in the Europe I or maybe you know). I hope that when your husband was chastised at family gatherings, he stood his ground for his beliefs.
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I only wish that the full pix were also included, or at least noted in such a way that we could see them. The detail for one of the pictures for "Star" is intriguing, but the end notes say "detail from a basin / Iranian / early 14th century." I don't have high hopes of finding an image of the whole basin....
But now I really do wish I could get 123!
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I loved Count Them While You Can . . .: A Book of Endangered Animals...Here is my review: This book is wonderful. It completely captured my attention and my children's attention (ages 6, 9, and 11...all three enjoyed it immensely). Introduces animals that are currently (as of 2008/2009...I appreciated that it shared the date that data was available about numbers remaining) endangered. The book contains rhymes about each animal and her babies. Then on the facing page it includes facts about their habitat, food, threats, numbers left in the wild/in captivity, and care for their young.Great information, great illustrations, great selection of animals...fabulous.
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One of the things I found so great about this book was that all the supplemental information was included right with the individual pictures and not just in an author's note in the back (makes it easier to discuss).
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Oh, I'm so happy the book was a hit with your daughter! :-)
And delighted that the group is providing more variety of books for you and your daughter. If you have time, check out some of our prior months with the Master Lists. We had an ABC book theme that would pair nicely with the counting books.
I look forward to your participation in future months :-) I think a few of our September books about horses will be appealing to her.
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A simply wonderful picture book with enchanting ink and watercolor illustrations, which are quite large enough to share in a group setting. This is not a typical counting book, with a number on each page and a number of objects to match the number. This is a story of a giraffe attempting to count various objects, which won't stay put. Only on one of the last pages are there 10 flowers and the numbers 1 through 10 floating across the double page spread. Then the real challenge: Abigail and her friends decide to count the stars.
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Well, they're Brown Bears, not Grizzly Bears, but nevermind. Great silly fun. Good fit with Disney/Hyperion publishing. Lumberjacks do like their pancakes! Good reread value as the illustrations have lots of contextual details that are fun to discover.
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Delightful. Even it if didn't have the advantage of being safari instead of farm animals, even if the pictures weren't so gorgeous, I'd love the storyline itself. Simple enough that this would be even better as a board book... but then, the pictures do need to be large enough to give our heroine scope. I especially love the title page and the very last.
I like the design of the fold-out page: even if the flap is lost to careless rugrats, the story is not significantly disrupted. Book designers should get more credit... in part, because I don't know if the designer helped Rayner or she figured it out all by herself (or, for that matter, if it was luck).
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While Emily Gravett's illustrations are indeed sweet and imaginative, full off fun and movement, I have simply found The Rabbit Problem much much too busy for me (to the point of it becoming distracting, to the point of it becoming tedious and actually rather boring, as I simply shut down and was only skimming the pictures, pop-ups and inserts).
Now if The Rabbit Problem had actually and clearly explained Fibonacci's rabbit problem logically, mathematically and above all, in a manner that I could understand (in a manner that was easy, logical and made sense even for someone like me who has always been terrible with regard to mathematics and especially with pattern recognition), perhaps the illustrations would have made increasing sense and been more than just a calendar of an overpopulating rabbit year, but The Rabbit Problem really does just seem personally annoying and it sure is giving me a massive tension headache, with too much detail, too many minute illustrations and facts, facts and more facts (but not really ever a clearly delineated, one or two line explanation as to what Fibonacci numbers are and how they pertain to his rabbit problem, how one can actually and easily figure out the pattern involved). And thus to me and for me, The Rabbit Problem not only feels very much unsatisfying, it also feels rather like a slap in the face, it feels as thought Emily Gravett is using her The Rabbit Problem to drive home the fact to me that I am useless and untalented with regard to mathematics, that I will never get math patterns.
And thus, while I do realise that The Rabbit Problem is sweetly illustrated, includes much fun and whimsy (and would probably be a hit with many older children and likely even many adults with an interest in math, and seemingly is, judging from the many glowingly positive reviews), the rather too in my face busy-ness of the illustrations (the sheer amount of information, often presented in very small fonts and not really all that easily readable without my reading glasses), but especially the fact that the general set-up and presentation of The Rabbit Problem is making me feel once again like a total mathematical failure (and bringing tears into my eyes and churning up some rather painful memories of school), this all is only allowing me to rank The Rabbit Problem with one star (actually, one and a half stars, but still not in any way enough for a two star rating, as my personal reaction has been too painful and too massively chafing to consider rounding up).
Children's Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Rabbit Problem (other topics)Abigail (other topics)
Count the Monkeys (other topics)
Count the Monkeys (other topics)
Count Them While You Can . . .: A Book of Endangered Animals (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Anthony Browne (other topics)Julie Merberg (other topics)
Anthony Browne (other topics)
Atsuko Morozumi (other topics)
Here are the books we will read together in August:
Count the Monkeys
The Rabbit Problem
Museum 123
How Many Donkeys?: An Arabic Counting Tale
One Gorilla
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I have not selected a sixth/alternate book for this month because the votes were too split and I couldn't break the tie as my library did not have most of them.
For those of you interested, these are our runners-up (with two votes each) and you are welcome to read them and share your thoughts on them:
One Leaf Rides the Wind (I really wanted to read this! Sad my library doesn't have it)
Abigail (this looks soo cute! Ditto)
Musk Ox Counts (the cover art on this didn't appeal to me, but I do like musk-oxen)
Count Them While You Can . . .: A Book of Endangered Animals (good thing I did not have to choose amongst these four!)