Customer Reviews

Counting in the Crazy Garden (Chipper Kids)

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I read, review and use a lot of children's books. I do feel we have a winner with this one! It pretty well has everything I look for in a book for the wee ones. This work targets the three to seven year old age group. There are thirty pages to the actually story and the author has skillfully inserted some very nice little lessons, other than the primary one, which is counting. I like this. It gives the adult reader an opportunity to be creative and after reading the same book over and over and over and over again, this is rather pleasing.

The story is of a young bear, Arnold Chipper, who loves to cook with the food he grows in this garden. He very much wishes that he, and his friends, could actually eat the dishes he prepares. There in lies the problem! When you turn out stuff like Three lumpy, bumpy, squishy mud pies or four hairy, scary spider cookies or six stinky, smelly old shoe soufflés or eight plates of pine needle noodles or seven peely, prickly, stick and stone scones, well, you have a problem getting the other children to eat them. This delightful play on words cracks the kids up, they love it! The author starts with one jiggly, wiggly, wobbly worm cobbler and progresses through nine scrunchy, crunch, sandy sandwiches and ends with ten cool seeds, ergo, the lesson in counting. (I am not going to tell you about what he does with the seeds....no spoilers here!)

As I mention though, there are other hidden lessons to be learned in this little book. First, and of great importance to me, is color. The art work in this book is simple, with vivid colors. It is an excellent tool to teach colors to children. As an example, on the first page I counted at least nine colors with at least two shades of blue and three of tan and brown included. Having the kids identify these colors and shades is good for them as, in my opinion; you cannot start this skill and process early enough. Kids are quite bright and it is amazing how they can distinguish several different shades of just yellow, if they are encouraged and given the opportunity to do so, and they will talk on and on about this at great lengths. The next lesson is the one that encourages the little ones to use their imaginations (as if most of them need help). To turn a lump of dirt into a cookie that resembles a spider is also good for them. The last part of this work points out what can be done with a bit of team work and a bit of simple work and a touch of patience. This is always a good thing.

I also like the way the author and artist have included little creatures sprinkled here and there along with various plants and flowers. Have the kids find the turtle, the spider, various flowers, plants, and let's not forget the squirrel. Do you have any idea how many "turtle stories" you can get out of a group of fifteen or twenty first graders? Try it some time. There are more, but I will save that fun for you, the reader to find.

The bright, bold pictures which fit perfectly with the text, makes this book a snap to read to a group of children, something which is sadly forgotten by many authors and artists. Reading to twenty or more kids gathered at your knee is difficult enough without having to poke the book under each little nose so they can see the pictures.

The book is well constructed and should hold up to the inevitable beating it will take in little hands. A very professional job here!

Finally, I received this book on the day I happened to be substituting in a kindergarten class. I brought the book along and read it to the kids during one of their reading sessions. They loved it! This is probably the best endorsement a children's book can get. I and the kids recommend this one quite highly! Hope we get more from this author down the road.

The first of the "Chipper Kids" series, Counting in the Crazy Garden is a children's picturebook that teaches young readers about the numbers one through ten. Unlike most counting books, Counting in the Crazy Garden also tells a story, about a young bear named Arnold Chipper who loves to make "food" from his garden but can't persuade his little brother Albert and friend Maria to eat any of his questionable meals like tumbleweed soup, or hairy, scary, spider cookies. But then Arnold discovers that when delicious food like fresh strawberries are grown in the garden, everyone loves to eat it! Bright, cheerful illustrations add the perfect touch to this delightful children's book.