Quack and Count

by Keith Baker

Overview

Slip, slide, leap, and dive with a family of seven lively ducklings as they get ready to fly for the very first time. Keith Baker's playful, rhyming text and bold collage illustrations capture the excitement of a day's adventures--and gently introduce counting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152050252
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	03/01/2004
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	24
Sales rank:	23,810
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.13(d)
Age Range:	2 - 3 Years

About the Author

KEITH BAKER has written and illustrated many adored picture books, among them Little Green, Big Fat Hen, and Who Is the Beast? He lives in Seattle, Washington.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This deceptively straightforward book introduces youngsters to addition in such an unobtrusive, organic and merry way that they may not even notice how much they're learning. "—Publishers Weekly

"Wonderfully handled . . . harmoniously reinforcing the beauty of numbers themselves."—Chicago Tribune

"A delightful book offering loads of fun with the number seven. . . . This charmer should have little ones figuring out the basic concept of addition in no time."—Booklist

Editorial Reviews

"This deceptively straightforward book introduces youngsters to addition in such an unobtrusive, organic and merry way that they may not even notice how much they're learning. "--Publishers Weekly

"Wonderfully handled . . . harmoniously reinforcing the beauty of numbers themselves."--Chicago Tribune

"A delightful book offering loads of fun with the number seven. . . . This charmer should have little ones figuring out the basic concept of addition in no time."--Booklist

From the Publisher

"Seven ducklings splash and play in different combinations that introduce basic addition. Collage art fills the jungle and pond life scenes with a riot of colors and textures," noted PW. Ages 2-5. (Mar.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Lush, layered, cut-paper illustrations of ducklings in a marshy landscape create visual density that contrasts with the simplicity of the narrative in this attractive early math book. The book ever-so-gently introduces addition, dividing the seven ducks into different groupings. Starting with "6 plus 1," Baker (Big Fat Hen) moves one duck at a time to the right-hand page, so he works through all possible combinations. For example, the lines "Splashing as they leap and dive/ 7 ducklings, 2 plus 5" clarify a picture of two ducks diving into a pond to join five that are already swimming on the other page; in the next spread, one duck is on the left page, six are bottoms-up on the right. The artwork often camouflages the septet, making the counting a fun challenge: the ducklings sometimes overlap, or readers can spot them among the ferns and grasses. Baker varies the engaging compositions and characterizes the ducks as a lively bunch: in one scene they play hide-and-seek, and in another they gather in two rings to test out their lungs ("Quack-quack-quacking on the shore"). Ladybugs, snails and other wildlife keep the ducks company. This deceptively straightforward book introduces youngsters to addition in such an unobtrusive, organic and merry way that they may not even notice how much they're learning. Ages 2-7. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In rhyming couplets, seven baby ducks make their way through the grass, playing, sliding, leaping and diving in various groupings which always total seven. Finally, "paddling, flapping, reaching high seven ducklings start to...FLY!" Preschoolers will happily chant "Good-bye, Good-bye" as the ducklings fly off and will no doubt learn the combinations (read: addition facts) effortlessly. Baker's exquisite collage illustrations, formed from a variety of painted papers, move the action along without muddying it. The orange-beaked characters stand out cleverly against the greenery and the blue pond water making this book a good bet for preschool story hours and a natural reinforcement of mathematics.

Children's Literature - Susan Hepler

In rhyming couplets, seven baby ducks make their way through the grass, playing, sliding, leaping and diving in various groupings which always total seven. Finally, "paddling, flapping, reaching high seven ducklings start to...FLY!" Preschoolers will happily chant "Good-bye, Good-bye" as the ducklings fly off and will no doubt learn the combinations (read: addition facts) effortlessly. Baker's exquisite collage illustrations, formed from a variety of painted papers, move the action along without muddying it. The orange-beaked characters stand out cleverly against the greenery and the blue pond water making this board book a good bet for preschool story hours and a natural reinforcement of mathematics. 2003 (orig. 1999), Red Wagon/Harcourt, Ages 6 mo. to 3.
— Susan Hepler, Ph.D.

Children's Literature

In Quack and Count, Keith Baker uses the lively antics of seven ducklings as a sneaky introduction to permutations. His buoyant cut-paper collages and rhyming couplets perfectly portray the many combinations that add up to seven. A definite toddler read-it-again-and-again book.

Children's Literature - Dr. Beverly Kobrin

PreS-Gr 1-Seven uniquely marked ducklings slide, chase bees, and play peekaboo as they group on double-spread pages to illustrate ways to add up to their sum. "Splashing as they leap and dive/7 ducklings, 2 plus 5" shows five swimmers opposite two divers. Jaunty scenes in cut-paper collage with a gracious array of colors offer plenty of extras, including a pair of ladybugs that accompany the ducks throughout except for the V-formation at the end. The art successfully captures the birds' camouflage and rippling water with speckled papers, but this effect sometimes turns the counting exercise into a seek-and-find challenge. Still, the book is attractive, and children will have fun with it.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Baker (Big Fat Hen, 1994, etc.) engages in more number play, posing ducklings in every combination of groups, e.g., "Splashing as they leap and dive/7 ducklings, 2 plus 5." Using a great array of streaked and dappled papers, Baker creates a series of leafy collage scenes for the noisy, exuberant ducklings to fill, tucking in an occasional ladybug or other small creature for sharp-eyed pre-readers to spot. Children will regretfully wave goodbye as the ducks fly off in neat formation at the end of this brief, painless introduction to several basic math concepts. (Picture book. 4-6)

Kirkus Reviews