Quack and Count [Hardcover]

Keith Baker (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 2 and up

Keith Baker’s playful, rhyming text and bold collage illustrations capture the excitement of a day’s adventure as a family of lively ducklings slip, slide, leap, and dive--grouping themselves in all the different combinations that add up to seven. Addition has never been more fun!

Editorial Reviews

From 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 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 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 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 24 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1st edition (August 2, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152928588
• ISBN-13: 978-0152928582
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 11.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,559,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

KEITH BAKER is the author-illustrator of many beloved picture books, including Little Green, Hide and Snake, and Quack and Count. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concept of 7, June 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Quack and Count (Hardcover)

This book has a wonderful repetitive rhyme that introduces all the different number conbinations for the concept of 7. At the same time there is a predictable quality to each of the pages and the rhyming patterns that promotes emergent literacy as well as numeracy. Great for Preschool aged children.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quack and Count Review, March 9, 2007

By 

Traci A. Hemann "Book Lover" (North Dakota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quack and Count (Paperback)

I had bought the book for a 2nd grade lesson, but it is too basic for 2nd graders. The book has a great concept for teaching using different addends to get the same number, but definitely for K-1.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars count the ... ladybugs?, February 13, 2004

By 

S. Baker (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quack and Count (Paperback)

My daughter (20 months) loved this book (from the library) as much for the fun illustrations and rhymes but particularly for the game of finding three elusive ladybugs on each double-page spread. It's this kind of continuity and detail that makes a great kid's author/illustrator and Keith Baker is definitely one of them.