How Many Elephants?: A Lift-the-Flap Counting Book [Hardcover]

Selby Beeler (Author), Barney Saltzberg (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 2 and up

Pay no attention to the elephants dancing behind you! The running visual joke in this lift-the-flap counting book will provoke more giggles with every new number.

Let’s count things.
How many elephants
are in your closet?

Well, as every child knows, that’s a silly question! See, no elephants in here! Zero! Let’s get on to more reasonable things to count: shoes behind the curtain, markers in the box, toy dinosaurs in the drawer. And no, there are still no elephants in the closet — though someone seems to have left a trail of peanut shells in there. And why are ten pachyderms partying outside the window?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Selby Beeler says of HOW MANY ELEPHANTS?, "I wanted to write a counting book that started at zero, so I asked the familiar question, ‘How many?’ I imagined a parade of ten huge playful elephants and thought, What if they entered a child’s room and squeezed into a closet? How many could fit in? And, even more outrageous, what would happen if the child, busy counting something else, never saw them?"

Barney Saltzberg says of illustrating HOW MANY ELEPHANTS?, "I loved Selby’s playful text as soon as I read the manuscript. This is the kind of game I played with my own children when they were younger, and getting the chance to create ‘make-believe’ elephants that come alive was really a treat for me!" The author-illustrator of CRAZY HAIR DAY and other children’s books, Barney Saltzberg has also recorded two albums of music for children. When not writing and illustrating, he performs in schools, libraries, bookstores, and hospitals.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 20 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (April 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763615838
• ISBN-13: 978-0763615833
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,050,762 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From SherriAllen.com, October 9, 2004

By 

Sherri Allen "Editor, SherriAllen.com" (nc, usa) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How Many Elephants?: A Lift-the-Flap Counting Book (Hardcover)

How Many Elephants?: A Lift-The-Flap Counting Book, written by Selby Beeler and illustrated by Barney Saltzberg, is both amusing and educational.

The book begins with a search for elephants in a child's bedroom closet. During the silly game of hide-and-seek, readers discover and count a variety of ordinary objects. Counting from 0 - 10, readers will develop their counting skills without even realizing they're learning; they will think they're just enjoying the story and its fun, simple illustrations. Of course, readers are rewarded for all their hard work with a great surprise at the end.

The construction of the book is well done. The thin posterboard pages and flaps are strong and hold up to repeated openings by very enthusiastic youngsters.

Whether you are looking for a book to help your children learn to count or to simply entertain them, How Many Elephants?: A Lift-The-Flap Counting Book is an excellent choice!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Gift for Toddlers, October 22, 2004

By 

L. Butsch - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How Many Elephants?: A Lift-the-Flap Counting Book (Hardcover)

As a grandmother, I was delighted to find this fun and imaginative approach to learning how to count coupled with something to open on every page revealing surprises galore. The writing style is simple for preschool children to understand and the drawings clearly illuminate the counting principles. This will be a favorite gift this year for my young grandchildren!

5.0 out of 5 stars My daughter loves this book, January 14, 2006

By 

I love my kids (Palo Alto, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Many Elephants?: A Lift-the-Flap Counting Book (Hardcover)

We have dozens and dozens of kids books around the house, but this is one of the few that our daughter (2 years old) constantly picks from the shelf to read. She enjoys finding the elephants, and counting the different things on each page. The story is fun and easy to follow, and the illustrations seem to draw her back agani and again.

I would highly recommend this book.