What in the World? Numbers in Nature

It’s amazing how many counting books are out there for the pre-school set, and yet more keep coming out. How can one have a fresh take on this topic? Nancy Raines Day takes her young readers on a nature walk to find things to count and does this with near perfect meter and rhyme. The unexpected choices Day makes in many cases for her counting examples will have youngsters anxious to turn the pages and see what just might be coming next.

The poems certainly flow along through the books, but perhaps the real strength of this charming tome is the delightful illustrations that connect everything so nicely by carrying subjects from one page to the backgrounds of other pages. The illustrations are complex and detailed, with the simplicity and strong lines of woodcuts and yet they seem so much more than that. The colors are muted and quiet, but there is a real power to the illustrations. The wonderful details in the illustrations will keep youngsters looking for fun additions to what is mentioned in the poems and can be good discussion starters.