One, Two, Skip a Few: First Number Rhymes [Hardcover]

Roberta Arenson (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 2 and up

A fun-filled collection of first number rhymes, wonderfully complemented by Arenson's vibrant collage illustrations. "One, Two, Skip a Few!" brings together simple rhymes that will help small children practice counting both forward and backward. Progressively more challenging rhymes teach addition, subtraction, and even multiplication. Full color.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This collection of jaunty counting rhymes unites the pleasures of rhythmic language and counting with playful collage illustrations that counterpoint the patterned rhythms with repeated shapes. No stranger to counting books, Arenson (illus. of A Caribbean Counting Book) uses festively decorated papers (including the school-art-project look of watercolor over wax crayon) for her textured, free-spirited collages. The spuds of "One potato,/ Two potato" sail over the head of a juggling, bespectacled African American boy; for "Five little speckled frogs,/ Sat on a speckled log," an engaging array of gangly frog legs juts out, and the frogs' mouths are open to catch delicious flies. Some of the math would give adults pause (e.g., a rhyme like "Eighty-eights are sixty-four,/ Multiply by seven. When it's done,/ Carry one/ And take away eleven" would be gibberish to the target audience), but the naive glee of the illustrations will delight readers for the duration of the book, and parents can often simplify the few rhymes that involve more items than can be pictured. This manages to be both a teaching book and one that's just plain fun. Ages 2-7.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-A collection of 20 finger plays and number rhymes that range in difficulty from very easy ("One, two, skip a few") to more complicated riddles ("As I was going to St. Ives"). There are a number of rhymes for preschoolers and some for their older siblings as a couple of rhymes employ multiplication. Bright and colorful cut-paper collages fill the pages and extend the humor of the more absurd verses such as, "One, two, three, four, five,/Once I caught a fish alive..." There is no index or table of contents. Still, this is a solid addition to other counting concept books in the collection.
Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Barefoot Books (August 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 190122399X
• ISBN-13: 978-1901223996
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,927,305 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 Every Number Rhyme I know Is in this book- and then some!, December 26, 2001

By 

apoem "apoem" (Bosque Farms, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: One, Two, Skip a Few! (Paperback)

A great book!
Every number rhyme I know is in this book and then some. Many of the classics are in here; One Potato, Two Potato and Ten In a Bed to name a few. There are many number rhymes I didn't know in here as well.

The illustrations are bright and cheerful.

Two things I particularly like about this book:
One, the actions to the finger rhymes are not described in this book.
I know many people would like to see these actions written out so they know what to do while reading this book to their child. However, it has been my experience that a. your child knows you are not reading those words and wants you to which only takes away from the book. b. even if you don't act out the rhymes the book and rhymes are just as fun and c. you can't have a kid in your lap and act out the rhymes anyways. d. books that try to explain the finger action that matches the rhyme only serves as a distraction since you can't read both the rhyme and the directions at once.
The other thing I particularly like about this book is that it does not repeat each stanza of the rhymes. For example, it will give you the first verse and the last verse with the note after the first verse to continue until you reach one (such as Ten in a Bed... it assumes you can repeat the first verse until you count down to one and then provides the last verse.)

Great book!
A lot of fun!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bright delightful pictures, September 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: One, Two, Skip a Few: First Number Rhymes (Hardcover)

MY DAUGHTER LOVED THIS BOOK! WONDERFUL PICTURES BY ARTIST ROBERTA ARENSON

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Early counting rhyme fun!!, May 21, 2001

By 

Chess Heart "paxbear" (Canton, OH) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: One, Two, Skip a Few! (Paperback)

Rhymes are catchy things, and therefore a wonderful way to teach children just about anything. In "One, Two..." Ms. Arenson has taken some of the more well known number rhymes and combined them with her bright, beautiful and bold illustrations.

Children dance, swim and skip rope through the pages along with different animals, like the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 bees that come out of their hive. Some rhymes are very short, only 4 or 5 lines long, while others are much longer and take a page or two. Some are repetitive, like "5 green and speckled frogs/sitting on a speckled log..." which help children understand numbers by working up or down one number at a time. All of the rhymes have a wonderful song-like quality to them making them catch and fun to say or sing. Quite a lot of them would be good choices for skipping rope.

The illustrations are bold and very colorful. The book is also multicultural with children of different races and skin tones represented (this is a nice touch: too often illustrators forget to represent their characters as anything other than white-- "too many little white kids tripping merrily through the bluebells" is how a colleague of mine criticizes many picture books; this easily passed by her as representing ALL children).

The story will hold the interest of most very young children, and because of the large type and simple illustrations, it's a fine choice for lapsitting. Because the text is easy to read and often repetitive, it's also a great choice for beginning readers who are just learning to decode the written word. Lots of fun and very much recommended!