Counting Crows by Kathi Appelt, illustrated by Rob Dunlavey

Just when you think all the books that reinforce kids counting skills have been written in every conceivable way possible, along comes Kathi Appelt and proves you wrong.  Counting Crows does presume that young readers have learned to count at least up to 12 and are ready to have some fun with numbers 1-12.

Here we find twelve crows, all wearing bright red and white striped sweaters and, because there's one fashion rebel in every crowd, one crow accentuates his with a red polka-dot scarf.  The twelve black crows frolic across the pages, playing with each other, hanging from trees, sitting on telephone lines, and looking for something to eat, all of it accompanied by humorous rhyming couplets and quatrains in an ABCB rhyme scheme.

Of course, the crows may be the hunt for a tasty lunch, but they aren't the only ones:

Twelve crows hop,

twelve crows sing,

twelve on a park bench, 

wing by wing.

Twelve chewy chips

twelve slimy snails…

One cat counts

twelve crows' twelve tails!

The brief appearance of a calculating gray kitty wearing a red polka-dot scarf will surely get kids counting crows in the end, but they can also count each thing the crows find to eat, and, as kids will discover, they will eat ANYTHING.  For instance, if you look closely at the image below, you will be able to count nine spicy ants, and nine round crackers.  But be warned, as the numbers go up, it get more and more difficult find their tasty(?) treats.  So the book not only is fun with counting but also helps builds observation skills.  

I loved the illustrations done in marker, pencil and watercolor.  The vivid black crows in bold red sweaters are placed against a bright white background while the other features, like the telephone line, the bench, the edible tidbits are all done with light pencil lines (making them harder to find while seeking and counting them).

This is a fun book that will definitely delight young readers, especially those who are comfortable with their numbers already.

Kids can find some fun Counting Crows activities HERE 

This book is recommended for readers age 3+
This book was purchased for my personal library

This is book 6of my 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Reading Challenge hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy

Lifetime: the Amazing Numbers in Animal Lives by Lola M. Schaefer, illustrated by Chirstopher Silas Neal

Have you ever wonder about how many spots a giraffe has or how many Joey's a red kangaroo will give birth to in their lifetime?  Well, if you have, look no more.   Veteran author Lisa M. Schaefer has written another informative book for kids that is not your traditional counting book.  Instead, it takes different behaviors or features of 11 different wild animals and averages how many times it happens in the course of each animal's lifetime.

So, Schaefer writes that the average giraffe will wear 200 spots on its body, 100 on each side in its lifetime.  And the average red kangaroo will give birth to 50 joeys in her lifetime.  How did Schaefer come up with her amounts?  She explains right from the start that she based her "estimations on the average adult life span of each wild animal that lives to maturity and the recorded and observational information about it's behaviors or physical features."

So, Lifetime is both a counting book and a book that teaches kids about averages.  Each two page spread features one animal and the average number of times something happens in its lifetime.  Then the reader can count each occurrence, which is cleverly included in the illustration.  For example, on average, a caribou grows antlers 10 times in its lifetime.  Can you find and count all ten antlers?

You can click this to enlarge it for counting

At the back of the book, there is more information about each animal, including their average life span and that math used to derive the average number of times something happens.  And because Lifetime is also about averages, there is an excellent explanation of what an average is and how to find it.

Kids will like the counting and the information about each animal, but they will also enjoy the lovely earth-toned mixed media illustrations befitting all these animals in their wild habitat.

There are lots of good counting books available for kids, but this is one that takes counting a little further by teaching kids about averages as well, making it a very appealing for kids, especially those  interested in math and/or nature.

This book is recommended for readers age 4+
This book was provided by the publisher.

This book will be available September 24, 2013

Nonfiction Monday is hosted this week by Shelf-Employed

This is book 8 of my 2013 Nonfiction Picture Book Reading Challenge hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy