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CM . . . .
Volume VI Number 19 . . . . May 26, 2000
The Cheerios Counting Book
excerpt: See seven Cheerios.The book's final pair of facing pages first present the numbers 11-19 which appear only as numbers and words and then the number 20 which is also represented via 20 Cheerios. Likely the book would have been better ended at 10 for the first few numbers after 10 display an irregularity which is difficult for some children to grasp. Despite this minor fault, the bright and visually attractive The Cheerios Counting Book will be enjoyed by many youngsters who may take the real soggy versions out of their bowls to represent 11-19. Recommended. (The Cheerios Counting Book). My Love for You
Recommended. (My Love for You). Count Us In
excerpt: an ambush of 1 tiger Recommended. (Count Us In). Miss Spider's ABC
Recommended. (Miss Spider's ABC). Those That Float, Those That Don't
Recommended with reservations. (Those That Float, Those That Don't). Bunny's Rainbow Day
excerpt: Sun is rising, morning sparklesThe friends, a white rabbit, a bird, a butterfly and a ladybug, are together as the sun rises, and, as a quartet, they enjoy the beauty of the flower garden, but, as the day passes, the wind rises and clouds begin rolling in. Finally, the rain begins to fall, and the friends head for cover. When the rain stops, the four friends gather together again, now to enjoy the rainbow's colours. The simple collage illustrations, coupled with a chronological storyline which incorporates a familiar happening, make Bunny's Rainbow Day an excellent beginning plot-based board book. Recommended. (Bunny's Rainbow Day). Max's Chocolate Chicken
Recommended. (Max's Chocolate Chicken). Since the arrival of his second granddaughter, Dave Jenkinson, who teaches courses in children's and YA literature at the Faculty of Education, the University of Manitoba, has shown a renewed interest in board books.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@mts.net.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - May 26, 2000.
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Very young children's first personal encounters with books are often sturdy board books which
sometimes double as unofficial teething rings when parents are not looking. While all such books
should, in the first instance, entertain so that infants and toddlers begin to associate books with
pleasure, some also have an instructive component. Adults often introduce learning to count and
"knowing your A,B,C's" via board books. The Cheerios Counting Book first appeared in 1998
in paper form for those preschoolers whose finger dexterity allowed them to manipulate the thin
paper pages. Now, it is available in a completely revised board format. Through 10, each page is
devoted to a single number with the number being represented by both Cheerio O's and berries or
pieces of fruit. The Cheerio's are presented in an orderly manner which facilitates their being
counted while the fruit is presented more randomly, thereby introducing some challenge for those
just learning their numbers. As the fruit changes in each picture, children also get to identify 10
different fruits. The colour of the number is connected to the fruit's colour and so, for example,
there is a cherry red "1" and a kiwi green "4." The text is quite brief, and that which is found on
facing pages rhymes.
Although the title does not suggest it, My Love for You is also a counting book, one which
provides youngsters with opportunities to develop numeracy along with elements of vocabulary,
especially the idea of the comparative. Using collage, Roth presents her central characters, two
mice, likely parent and child, although other interpretations are possible. Beginning with the title
statement, each page or pair of facing pages completes the statement via a comparison.
Consequently, "My love for you is bigger than 1 bear, taller than 2 giraffes...." After "5," the title
statement is again repeated and the comparisons resumed: "deeper than 6 deep-sea fish, stronger
than 7 gorillas...." The closing statement provides both a sense of completeness and security
because the reader is assured that the love is "forever." In the main, the animals which are to be
counted are illustrated in a fashion which makes it easy for young readers to identify where one
ends and another begins.
Count Us In provides additional possibilities for learning the
numbers from 1-10 with the "objects" to be counted consisting mostly of
exotic birds and mammals that are rendered via full-colour photographs
and cartoon-like animals. While each number is dealt with in a pair of
facing pages, the counting task will be more difficult in Count Us
In than in the Cheerios book for two major reasons. As the
numbers get higher, the entire creature is not always portrayed, and some
young children will be unable to generalize from the part to the whole. As
well, some children may not realize that they are to include the cartoon
creature(s) in their counting and will, therefore, only count the "real"
animals. On the positive side, with the exception of "4 frogs," the book
may introduce children to new creatures, such as rhinos, cheetahs and
beluga whales. As well, the authors have used a mixture of accurate and
imaginative language in naming their groupings, and so children
meet:
Leaving counting behind, youngsters can begin to learn their A,B,C's via
the visually attractive Miss Spider's ABC in which anthropomorphic
insects and other small creatures are used to present the letters of the
alphabet. Each pair of facing pages usually presents two letters which are
presented in upper case and then are normally utilized in a simple
sentence which contains alliteration and reveals the letters' lower case
appearance. Consequently, "Ants await" and "Bumblebees blow balloons"
while "Hummingbirds hide inside irises" and "Jumping june bugs kiss
katydids." The book contains a delightful surprise for young listeners
for it actually has a story element to it in that all of the insects'
activity has a purpose. They are preparing a surprise birthday party for
Miss Spider, but that fact is not revealed until the book's closing pages.
The bright illustrations will definitely grab a young audience's
attention.
Sometimes board books are used to introduce concepts, and one book having
such an intent is Those That Float, Those That Don't. Although the
title suggests that the book will show a variety of things that float and
some that do not, such is not the case after the first two illustrations.
Instead, the book provides situations which are contrasting, but not
necessarily opposite. Therefore, there are "those that dive and those that
sip" as well as "there are those that leap and those that spout." From the
same pair who authored Count Us In, this book also uses a
combination of full-colour photographs and cartoons, but, unlike the
earlier book, the principal text does not directly name the creatures in
the photographs. Instead, the reader must turn to the secondary text found
in the speech balloons of the cartoon characters to learn the names of the
creatures found in the photos. While most of the words used in the main
text, such as "swim", "leap", and "dive," should be familiar to young
readers, a few, like "wallow," "spout" and "coast," may be new to others.
Reader assistance in understanding the concept word is provided by the
speech balloon which uses the word, now bolded, in a context. For
instance, "Wild boars, like all pigs, wallow in muddy waters" and "Bengal
tigers take dips in jungle streams to cool down." Not a first purchase
board book, this one can be used to expand vocabulary.
Finally, board books can be utilized to introduce young children to the
idea of story. In Bunny's Rainbow Day:
Also featuring rabbits, Max's Chocolate Chicken is, however, much
more complex in both its plot and the illustrations which are rendered in
black ink drawings and watercolor wash. While youngsters must listen to
the words, they also need to "read" the illustrations which sometimes tell
a different story. For example, the opening sentence says: "One morning
somebody put a chocolate chicken in the birdbath," but the illustration
clearly shows that the "somebody" was Max's father who placed the chicken
in the bird bath. Max's sister, Ruby, suggests that she and Max go on an
egg hunt and whoever finds the most eggs will get the chocolate chicken.
Although Ruby finds eggs, Max discovers more interesting things, such as
mud puddles, acorns and ants. Ruby obviously wins the hunt, but the text
says, "but Max ran away and hid." Again, the illustration shows a
different tale for Max has grabbed the egg and has secreted himself in the
hollow of a tree where he eats the purloined chocolate chicken. All ends
well for Ruby when father surreptitiously supplies another chicken.
Children must also learn to read the difference between genuine double
page spreads and those which appear to be such but are really more like
two "action" frames from a movie.