Review: The Newt in the Suit

The Newt in the Suit

Written by Margaret Chamberlain

Illustrated by Andrew Weale

Publication date: 2010
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
ISBN: 978-0-340-98867-1

Summary/Back cover:
There are cockatoos in high-heeled shoes, pigs in wigs, buzzing bees wearing dungarees, and a newt in a suit! But why are all the animals dressed up in their very best clothes? Count from one to ten and join in the birthday party fun!

Review:
This counting book appeals to my 3 year old hugely! There's nothing particularly outstanding about it from a parent's point of view, but the increasingly strangely dressed animals, along with the counting (and recognising numerals) aspect holds preschoolers attention very well.

The illustrations are clear and bright, and surprisingly uncluttered, given that you end up with 55 animals on the second-to-last page (all the animals from one to ten).

A good counting book, with a bit of nonsense thrown in for good measure.

My rating: 3.8 out of 5

Review written by Bronwyn

Review: Farm Life

Farm Life

Written by Elizabeth Spurr

Illustrated by Steve Björkman

Publication date: 2003
Publisher: Holiday House
ISBN: 0-8234-1777-8

Summary/Back cover:
Rhymed descriptions of life on a farm introduce basic colors and the numbers one to ten.

Review:
This book reminds me a bit of the way "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?" is written - the very first page is "Red Barn, Red Barn, what are you keeping?" - a bit too similar to be original, I think!

However, it does introduce colours and numbers very well, and the kids seem to love it. There is a glossary of farming terms used, such as reaping, thresher and heifers, so the less-farm inclined parents can still explain to their children what these words mean (as kids will invariably ask about them!)

3.5 out of 5

Review written by Ruth

Review: Father Christmas Needs a Wee!

Father Christmas Needs a Wee!

by Nicholas Allan

Publication date: 2009
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 978-1-849-41049-6

Summary/Back cover:
A funny festive counting book in brilliant bouncy rhyme!
At every house Father Christmas eats and drinks the tasty treats that have been left for him. But when he reaches number ten he realizes that he's forgotten to do something rather important - AND he really, really, really, really needs a wee...

Review:
This is a cute wee book that appealed to my 3 year old because it has Santa and wees - toilet training is still fresh enough in his mind that discussing wee is still an interesting topic!

The rhyming is a little forced, I think, so it's certainly not one of my favourite books.  However, it appeals to the intended audience, although, having Santa as the main character, it limits the use of the book during most of the year - a good one to pull out in December, though!

My rating: 3 out of 5.  It's good, but not great.

Review written by Bronwyn

Review: 1001 Animals to Spot

1001 Animals to Spot

Written by Ruth Brocklehurst

Illustrated by Teri Gower

Publication date: 2002
Publisher: Usborne Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-4095-0864-9

Summary/Back cover:
Teeming with animals to find, count and talk about, this bright picture book provides hours of puzzle-solving fun. It also helps develop basic word and number skills. The busy scenes bring to life different habitats from around the world. Children will delight in finding all kinds of familiar and exotic animals – from lambs on the farm to armadillos in the rainforest.

Review:
This book has busy and bright illustrations that encourage conversation about various animals. Each page has 10 animals to spot and count. It encourages 1-1 matching and number recognition. My son loves this book as he is really into counting at the moment. Some animals are easy to find and others are not so it provides challenges as well as some guaranteed success. There are several other titles in this series including 1001 Things to Spot on the farm, 1001 things to Spot around town, and even a fairy and a pirate version.

5/5

Review written by Judith

Review: Baby Einstein See and Spy Counting

Baby Einstein See and Spy Counting

Concept by Julie Aigner-Clark

Illustrations by Nadeem Zaidi

Publication date: 2001
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN: 978-0-78-680808-3


Summary/Back cover:
The concept of numbers and counting from 1 to 5 is demonstrated by the Baby Einstein characters in a variety of playful, amusing scenarios. Young children will delight in finding, naming, and counting a variety of objects in each illustration. The book also builds vocabulary, and teaches the names of parts of the body.

Review:
My almost-3 year old loves this book - the general gist is that each page has five questions along the lines of "How many sunflowers are painted on the canvas?" and ""How many bananas is the monkey holding?" - the questions are simple, the numbers are counting from 1 to 5, and kids seem to love it!  I honestly thought my son would be bored of it halfway through, but he's read it over and over, and enjoys taking it to bed to read to himself - the version we have is a board book, so is perfect for this.  I enjoy listening to him reading to himself - "How many baby ducks are there? One, two, three, four, five." Occasionally followed by "sixseveneightnineten!!"

It's not a reading book as such, as there's no storyline, but this book slotted into both our reading time and our play time quite happily - my almost-1 year old enjoyed looking at the pictures, and his big brother enjoyed 'reading' it to him: "That's a duck.  You say 'duck'.  There's one, two, three ducks."

My rating: 4 out of 5.  A great book for early counters.

Review written by Bronwyn

Review: Animal 123

Animal 123

Written and Illustrated by David Wojtowycz

Publication date: 2000
Publisher: David & Charles Children's Books
ISBN: 1-86233-152-9

Summary/Back cover: 
Check into the Animal 123 hotel where behind each of the ten doors the zany animal guests are involved in crazy goings-on!
Look in on the two tangoing toucans or sneak a peek at the six sleep-walking skunks.  Oh, and don't forget to look out for the mice... This is the fun way of learning to count to ten!

Review:
I grabbed this book from the library, purely because it's by David Wojtowycz (illustrator of Commotion in the Ocean, The Lion Who Wanted to Love, and Farmyard Hullabaloo, amongst others) - and the illustrations don't disappoint at all.  Beautiful bright pictures of some funny animals (although my 2.5 year old didn't believe us that the sheep were actually sheep, as they were all dressed up in lounge-singer costumes!). The text of the book is not a story as such, but a title for the animals on each page:  "Three thirsty flamingos" for example, is all the text on the page with three thirsty flamingos (funnily enough...).

In saying that, it's a great book for your learner counter.  We spent a lot of time counting how many animals were on each page, and then read the book backwards as well (we're just learning how to count from ten down to one).  It's not a bedtime story, but it is a good learning tool.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Review written by Bronwyn

Review: Toby Counts His Marbles

Toby Counts His Marbles

Written and Illustrated by Cyndy Szekeres

Publication date: 2000
Publisher: Little Simon
ISBN: 978-0-6898-2650-4


Summary/Back cover:
Meet Toby, a mouse who likes to sing and romp, read, and play. Every day is a new adventure as Toby discovers the many wonderful things about being a preschooler. Toby is curious, kind, and extra special -- just like you!


Review:
Book five of eight that follow Toby mouse. This one teaches counting in a fun way while also teaching about cleaning up your toys! Aimed at 1-4 year olds


Review written by Laugan

Review: One to Ten and Back Again

One to Ten and Back Again

Written & Illustrated by Sue Heap & Nick Sharratt

Publication date: 2004
Publisher: Puffin Books
ISBN: 978-0-141-38339-2

Summary/Back cover:
Start with one boy called Nick and add one girl called Sue, then count all the way to ten cakes for tea!

Review:
This little board book is now working it’s magic on my second child. Both my son and daughter have loved the nice clear, colourful images.  The drawings are very attractive, the text is completely pithy and to the point:

“Two woolly gloves,”
“Two shiny shoes.”

The images offer lots of opportunity to talk about colours, every day objects, patterns, animals and, of course, numbers.  My daughter memorised the text within a month of reading it and would “read” it to me at each bedtime storytime. I’m sure the same will happen with my son as his language skills grow.  This little book will be one of the great tools to bring that range of language out of him, I have no doubt.  Cannot recommend it highly enough.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Review written by Ms Oh Waily

Review: Spot Can Count

Spot Can Count

by Eric Hill

Publication Date: 1999

Publisher: Puffin

ISBN: 978-0-140-56701-4

Spot the dog is a classic, and this lift-the-flap book follows him around the farm counting animals. There isn’t really a story per se, it begins with Spot telling his dad that he can count to ten and then the rest of the book follows the formula: “How many … are in the …?” and you lift the flap to find the answer. This book is a great introduction to numbers, counting and farm animals. Kids always love the interactive experience of lifting the flaps. Beware with younger children, though. It pays to have a glue-stick and some cellotape handy for the inevitable flap repairs you’ll be making!

My rating:  3.8 out of 5

Review written by team_s

Review: The Nickle Nackle Tree

The Nickle Nackle Tree 

Written and Illustrated by Lynley Dodd

Publication date: 1996
Publisher: Mallinson Rendel

ISBN: 0-908783-19-1

Summary/Back cover:

In the Manglemunching Forest there's a Nickle Nackle tree,

Growing Nickle Nackle berries that are red as red can be.

I went to look last Monday; I was too surprised for words

- On every twisty branch there was a jumbly jam of birds

And from here, this counting book works its way up from one Ballyhoo bird to fourteen pink fandango birds.  Wildly imaginative with all manner of crazy bird types and beautifully illustrated, this funny book is not proving too popular with our newest family addition but was loved by our eldest.

As a rule, I like to give books as birthday presents especially to children, and where I can I try to make them books by NZ authors.  Lynley Dodd is a most beloved kiwi author and I know that any one of her many books will be greatly appreciated.  This book has the added benefit of being a counting book as well as being wonderfully creative.  I like to use this and her other book, The Other Ark, as a basis to try and come up with our own crazy creatures with my sons, nieces and nephew.

Some of the birds are a little off-putting, which I think is what is making my little fella a bit wary.  So on this basis I give this book a 3.5/5.

Review written by QTCass