Animal 1 2 3 , Britta Teckentrup, Chronicle Books, 2012
Format: Picture Book
Rating: 1-5 (5 is excellent or a Starred review) 3
Genre: Picture Book – counting
What did you like about the book? I really liked the digital illustrations of this counting book. They are clean and bright and sure to work well during story times. We count from 1 – 10 with a variety of animals from a “wiggly snake” to “marching elephants.” What I like about this book for story time is that you can have the children act out the animal movement as well as count. Another fun feature is that each page has a small gatefold on the edge that opens up to add another animal to the count. For example, “4 swimming hippos” opens up under the numeral 4 to reveal another hippo and the words “5 swimming hippos.” This would be fun to use to have the children guess what number will follow.
What didn’t you like about the book? The only problem I could foresee is that the paper for the gatefold, since it is shaped to fit the outline of the numerals, is a bit thin. With regular wear and tear of circulating this may be problematic. The pages should have been printed on a sturdier paper.
To whom would you recommend this book? This is a nice counting book for young children and they will love the fold out additions.
Who should buy this book? Public Libraries
Where would you shelve it and why? Picture Books
Should we (librarians) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? Not really
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City: Catherine Coyne, The Ames Free Library, Easton
