Counting Book

Ten Birds

Ten birds are trying to figure out how to get to the other side of the river. The bird they call “Brilliant” devises a pair of stilts. The bird they call “Highly Satisfactory” engineers a raft. One by one, nine resourceful birds make the crossing until a single bird is left behind–the one they call “Needs Improvement.” This bird’s solution proves surprising and absurdly simple. More than a counting book, Ten Birds is a witty story that highlights ingenuity, common sense and the inadequacies of labels.

Ten Little Puppies/Diez Perritos

Ten little puppies are lost, one by one, for different reasons, until only one little puppy remains.

The Rabbit Problem

In Fibonacci’s Field, Lonely and Chalk Rabbit meet, snuggle together, and then spend a year trying to cope with their ever-increasing brood and the seasonal changes that bring a new challenge each month. Presented in calendar format with one pop-up illustration and other special features.

Dos Años

The idea that hands, feet, eyes, ears, legs, and arms all come in pairs is discovered by two Asian-American toddlers.

Way Out in the Desert

A counting book in rhyme presents various desert animals and their children, from a mother horned toad and her little toadie one to a mom tarantula and her little spiders ten. Numerals are hidden in each illustration.

Passing the Peace: A Counting Book for Children

This is an exceptional book by an innovative author from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Not only does it guide the young reader through the numbers 1 to 10, it does so in English, French, Inuktitut, and Inuinnaqtun. The numerical progression in the color images, which are of Inuit figures cut from fabric and arranged anew for each number, is further represented by each figure acquiring a bright red heart, reinforcing the overall theme of friendship among people of different languages and races.

A Piñata in a Pine Tree

An award-winning author and a rising star artist have put a festive Latino twist on “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” populating it with piñatas in place of partridges, plus burritos bailando (dancing donkeys), lunitas cantando (singing moons), and much more, all displayed in the most vivid colors imaginable. In this version a little girl receives gifts from a secret amiga, whose identity is a sweet surprise at the book’s conclusion. There are things to find and count in Spanish on every page, with pronunciations provided right in the pictures and a glossary and music following the story. This joyous fiesta will warm even the coldest of hearts.