Counting on it

MUSK OX COUNTS by Erin Cabatingan with illustrations by Matthew Myers. Roaring Brook 2013.

Musk Ox is back from his triumphant debut in A IS FOR MUSK OX, this time to show us how to count from 1 to 10. Trouble is, 1 is a lonely number, and Musk Ox prefers to hang out with the yaks (2) and other animals instead. Despite Zebra's warnings about how Musk Ox is going to confuse readers, the merriment continues all the way to the final pages. Definitely NOT a book to teach counting, but definitely a funny book to share with kids. Meta-math?

Counting potatoes

ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO by Todd H. Doodler. Little Simon, 2013.

The birthday party is fun at first as 1 then 2 then 3 potatoes join in the celebration. But when there are 20 potatoes in one room, things get a bit crowded. How can this problem ever be resolved? Can you say "mashed"?

cats and dogs

WHAT CAT IS THAT? ALL ABOUT CATS by Tish Rabe with illustrations by Aristides Ruiz and Joe Mathieu. Random House (Cat in the Hat Learning Library), 2013.

Simple text and illustrations worthy of the Dr. himself inform readers all about cats. Breeds, physical features, and behaviors are three aspects of the learning that can take place within the pages of this book.

DOG LOVES COUNTING by Louise Yates. Knopf, 2013.

A terrific story involves dog who cannot sleep. Counting sheep is not helping and so Dog turns to books for other things to count. He begins with one egg, a dodo, and then the counting continues in book after book.

Facts and Figures

LIFETIME: THE AMAZING NUMBERS IN ANIMAL LIVES by Lola M. Schaefer with illustrations by Christopher Silas Neal. Chronicle Books, 2013.

How many holes can a woodpecker drill in a lifetime? How many fleeces can a sheep produce? How about the number of eggs that can be laid by an alligator in her lifetime? These are among the answers in this book that combines animal facts with counting.

Touch, Think, Learn

OPPOSITES by Xavier Deneux. Chronicle Books, 2013.

COLORS by Xavier Deneux. Chronicle Books, 2013.


These two board books explore some basic concepts for the very young reader. Die cuts and colorful objects will help kids to explore colors and opposites.

Eek! Bugs!

PRINCESS BUGS by David A. Carter. Little Simon, 2013.

A touch and feel book, young readers will love interacting with this news story about all manner of glittery and soft and sparkly bugs. Be sure to search for other books by this interactive picture book author.







YOO-HOO, LADYBUG! by Mem Fox with illustrations by Laura Ljungkvist. Beach Lane, 2013.

Can you spot the ladybug hiding in all of the illustrations? Simple rhyming text and bright illustrations make this a "where's Waldo?" for the younger crowd.

Opposites

INGRID & DIETER SCHUBERT OPPOSITES. Lemniscaat, 2013.

Wonderfully zany scenes with animals demonstrate the concept of opposites: hot and cold, naughty and nice, asleep and awake are just a handful of the opposites highlighted in the double page spread illustrations.

Counting on it

1 2 3 LITTLE DONKEY by Rindert Kromhout and Annemarie van Haeringen. Gecko Press, 2013.

Count along with the donkey family as Mom brings home 1 bag from the store. Her two little donkeys begin to explore the loot. Along the way, of course, there will be 3, 4, 5, etc. Until we reach 10 soft kisses. Great bedtime or storytime books for the young.

Count on it!

CHICKA CHICKA 1-2-3 by Bill Martin Jr, Michael Sampson with illustrations by Lois Ehlert. Little Simon, 2013.


This new book is a board book version of an older title. Count to 20 and then by tens to 100 and then back down again with a special surprise to the long-suffering zero.

Get in Shape

ROUND IS A TORTILLA: A BOOK OF SHAPES by Roseanne Greenfield Thong with illustrations by John Parra. Chronicle Books, 2013.

Gentle quatrains introduce shapes along with items of that shape. So, a sombrero and a tortilla are round. Carts and paletas are rectangles, etc. A glossary of Spanish words along with definitions and pronunciations are included in the back of the book.

Oh very young...

COUNTASAURUS
SHAPEASAURUS

by Megan Bryant with illustrations by Luciana Navarro Powell. Chronicle Books, 2012.

Here are two concept books in board book format. Count dinosaurs. See dinosaurs interact with shapes. Both are terrific to use with young children as they are beginning to explore concepts of shape and numbers.

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Board books, never bored books

ALPHASAURUS by Megan Bryant with illustrations by Luciana Navarro Powell. Chroncile Books, 2012.

Learn the alphabet
With help from the dinosaurs
A right through to Z. <400>

COLORASAURUS by Megan Bryant with illustrations by Luciana Navarro Powell. Chroncile Books, 2012.

Learn all your colors
With help from the dinosaurs
How easy is that? <401>

P5RESIONA AQUI by Herve Tullet. Chroncile Books, 2012.

Follow directions
En Espanol. See what you
Are able to do. <402>

Animal friends

ONE SPOTTED GIRAFFE by Petr Horacek is subtitled A POP UP COUNTING BOOK (Candlewick Press 2012). As readers lift the flap on the right side of the double page spread, up pops an animal in the shape of the number. On the facing left hand piece of the double page spread are the appropriate number of animals. Thus, a panda is transformed into a pop up number 8 while 8 pandas cavort. Nice, simple concept book with the bonus of the pop up. <261>

PIP AND POSY: THE SCARY MONSTER (Nosy Crow 2012) introduces readers to Pip and his friend Posy. It is a dreary day, and Posy decides to do some baking. Before long, she sees a monster staring into her window. But, it is only Pip, of course. The two enjoy a lovely time each pretending to be a scary monster. <262>

Short and sweet: picture books

BECAUSE AMELIA SMILED by David Ezra Stein (Candlewick Press 2012) relates a chain of events that all began because Amelia smiled. Colored pencil illustrations being depth to the simple story depicting the chain of events with humor and, as needed, pathos. <241>

BACKSEAT A-B-SEE by Maria van Lieshout (Chronicle Books 2012) is an alphabet book all about road signs. A is for "A" is for airport and "S" is for Stop. Perfect for sharing right before a road trip so that everyone can play along. <242>

FIRE! FUEGO! BRAVE BOMBEROS by Susan Middleton Elya with illustrations by Dan Santat (Bloomsbury 2012) takes readers into the lives of brave firefighters. In text that fluctuates between English and Spanish ("Helmets on, abrigos, botas."), readers will watch as the firefighters prepare to load up the truick and head off to fight fires. Endpapers show the beginning and end of a fireman's day. <243>

GUINEA PIG PARTY by Holly Surplice (Nosy Crow 2012) is a counting book where kids can count backward from 10 to 1 as guinea pigs enjoy a birthday party. Some pigs are lost from a conga line, others disappear one at a time during other party activities. However, all appear once more to make the party a success at the end. <244>

Anthony Browne takes on emotions in HOW DO YOU FEEL? (Candlewick Press 2012). A cheerful monkey dressed in denim overalls (shades of Corduroy). Color, size, placement on the page all help readers with visual clues to the particular emotion from confident to lonely to full. <245>

pictures worth thousands of words

HOW MANY JELLY BEANS? by Andrea Menotti with illustrations by Yancey Labat (Chronicle 2012) is subtitled: A GIANT BOOK OF GIANT NUMBERS. That is the truth as our characters find out when offered some jelly beans. How many do they want? 10, 20, 100, 1000: the numbers grow larger and larger. Each number is accompanied by that same number of jelly beans. As the numbers swell, the jelly beans each become smaller and smaller. Final pages fold out into a huge illustration of 1 million jelly beans. <176>




DOG LOVES DRAWING by Louise Yates (Jonathan Cape/Random House 2012) gives readers Dog, a reader who owns a bookstore. One day, Dog receives a drawing pad. The first thing he draws is a door, and from there the story takes off limited only to the imagination of Dog and his new traveling companions (crab, owl, duck, and a stick man. Adventures await as quickly as they can be sketched. <177>

concept books

Ken Geist and Henry Cole team up in WHO'S WHO (Feiwel and Friends, August 2012) which is one of the forthcoming books that uses the pattern from "Over in the Meadow." Here, readers will count monkeys, bats, and hares among other creatures in the bouncy rhythm of the poem. <87>




LITTLE GOBLINS TEN by Pamela Jane with illustrations by Jane Manning (Harper 2012) also utilizes the rhythms and patterns of "Over in the Meadow." This time, though, readers will be counting goblins and mummies and other "monsters." <88>




CREATURE COUNTS by Brenda Haunte with illustrations by Vincent Nguyen (FSG, July 2012) is the third book coming this year to use the patterns of "Over in the Meadow." In this book, the pattern begins with "In a prehistoric meadow..." and introduces readers to all sorts of dinosaurs and their quiet lives in prehistoric times. <89>




B IS FOR BROOKLYN by Selina Alko (Holt/Ottaviano, August 2012) is an alphabet book about bagels and Coney Island and Gowanus Canal, Prospect Park, and more. Some of the history and culture of Brooklyn, NY, is conveyed in the illustrations and the text. <90>




National Geographic Kids (2012) gives readers an interesting alphabet book with AFRICAN ANIMAL ALPHABET by Beverly and Dereck Joubert. Plenty of "Did You Know?" fun facts are scattered throughout the book as well. <91>

Celebrate Picture Books All Year: Nonfiction Selections

SECRETS OF THE GARDEN by Kathleen Zoehfeld with illustrations by Priscilla Lamont (Knopf) is subtitled FOOD CHAINS AND THE FOOD WEB IN OUR BACKYARD. Science teachers will appreciate this examination of how the food chain works as well as the information on things kids can do in their own backyards. Though a fictional story, there is plenty of fact here. <599>



Ruth Kaiser's THE SMILEY BOOK OF COLORS (Golden Books) takes ordinary objects and looks at them from a different perspective. See, on the cover, how a handbag, an electrical strip, and other objects become smiley faces. Pair this one with Arlene Alda's ABCs and some of Tana Hoban's work such as LOOK AGAIN for good ways to show kids how to look at things and see more than meets the eye initially. <600>



MRS. HARKNESS AND HER PANDA by Alicia Potter with illustrations by Melissa Sweet (Knopf) is the true story of a woman whose husband died while on a trip to China to bring a panda back to America. And so she decided to complete his expedition at a time (1936) when women most decidedly did not do that sort of thing. Harkness was successful in her quest and returned to America with Su Lin (a little bit of something cute). <601>



GEORGE WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY is billed as a MOSTLY TRUE STORY by Margaret McNamara with illustrations by Barry Blitt (Schwartz and Wade). In a book that is story with factual notes on the pages as well (at the bottom of the page in different type face and in a box), readers will learn about young George and his adventures and dreams. An afterword by George himself will delight readers. <602>



Journey back in time to meet A BOY CALLED DICKENS by Deborah Hopkinson with illustrations by John Hendrix (Schwartz and Wade). Here is a perfect book to let kids know about an author whose work came from his own childhood experiences as a street urchin of sorts while the rest of his family languished in debtor's prison. Later, introduce readers to Diane Stanley's biography of Charles Dickens, DICKENS: THE MAN WHO HAD GREAT EXPECTATIONS. <603>



10 VALENTINE FRIENDS by Janet Schulman with illustrations by Linda Davick (Knopf) is a counting book perfect for sharing at Valentine's Day (of course). Rhyming couplets explain the card choices made by each of the ten friends. <604>



Anita Lobel tackies colors and numbers in 10 HUNGRY RABBITS (Knopf). Join the rabbit family as they gather yellow peppers, red tomatoes, blue blueberries and other veggies and then wait for Mama Rabbit to make a delicious meal from their harvest. <605>



Set in Africa during the Great Depression here in the US, MY HEART WILL NOT SIT DOWN by Mara Rockliff with illustrations by Ann Tanksley (Knopf) is the story of a young student who is distressed when her teacher talks about how so many people in America are going without food and shelter in the tough economic times. Though her own village has little, she manages to convince everyone to donate what they can to send to America to help. Until she does this, her heart will not sit down. Based on a true story. <606>