Ten Apples Up On Top! [Hardcover]

Theo. LeSieg (Author), Roy McKie (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: March 12, 1961 | Age Range: 3 - 7 years

A beginning Beginner Book, this ingenious story uses a vocabulary of only 75 different words. "A hilarious story in rhyme about a number of animals who could carry 10 apples on their heads."--Elementary English.  

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Since 1961, Ten Apples up on Top has been helping preschoolers learn to count and read simultaneously. Simple illustrations and even simpler rhymes make this apple-balancing competition between a dog, a tiger, and a lion a fun, easy place to practice sight words and phonics. Siblings can even take turns reading phrases like "Seven apples up on top. I am so good they will not drop." The inevitable tumbling crash is a great climax for busy toddlers to enjoy, and parents will appreciate the cooperative lesson the last page offers. (Preschool to early reader) --Jill Lightner

From the Inside Flap

Illus. in color. A beginning Beginner Book, this ingenious story uses a vocabulary of only 75 different words. "A hilarious story in rhyme about a number of animals who could carry 10 apples on their heads."--Elementary English.  

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 3 - 7 years
  
• Hardcover: 72 pages
• Publisher: Beginner Books (March 12, 1961)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394800192
• ISBN-13: 978-0394800196
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 0.4 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Dr. Seuss

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprise: Board Book Not the Full Version!? March 9, 2004

By A Customer

Format:Board book

My son loved the "Ten Apples Up On Top" (Hardcover) book I borrowed for him from the library so much that I ordered a copy of our own. Thinking that the board book would be more sturdy, that's what I ordered. Never imagined that the board book could be only less than half of the full version, you can imagine the surprise and disappointement we had when we sat down to read it together. Now I know to compare the number of pages when I order. I wish there were some kind of clearer indication and warning about Board book version not being the full version somewhere in the Product Description.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One-Ups-Creatureship Balancing Act to Help with Counting! February 20, 2001

By Donald Mitchell HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Board book

This book is a tour de force for helping with reading and counting to ten, using a vocabulary of only 75 words! A lion, dog, and tiger find many interesting ways to balance ten apples vertically on their heads, building up from only one. Then the birds decide they would like the apples, and the fun really begins. The conclusion will leave your child giggling happily.

Most simple books try to teach only counting or reading. I found it to be a great idea to combine the two. It makes the task both easier and more interesting for your child.

By using only 75 words, there is much repetition to help your youngster identify words that she or he will reuse throughout life. Here is an example:

"One apple up on top!

Two apples up on top!"

The illustrations nicely cue the young person to the words and the numbers involved. With these words I have quoted, you see the lion with the requisite number of apples balanced on top of the head.

The illustrations are also very active, and help draw interest to the story. Mr. Roy McKie's colorful, dynamic illustrations bring the story to life. Otherwise, how interesting can a counting book be?

Most children will have no trouble memorizing this story. Then, they can "read" along as you read aloud. Later, you can stop for certain words that they know how to identify, and they can read that word as part of the sentence you are reading aloud. You can also encourage them to count the number of apples aloud on each creature's head.

You can extend the value of this book by adding some pages of your own that involve numbers beyond ten. Your child will enjoy helping your with the illustrations for those pages. With the simple text structure, you cannot help but match what Dr. Seuss would have written (writing here under his pen name of Theo. Le Sieg -- the reverse of his real last name).

As an adult, I also encourage you to consider creating other books for your children to learn from. You could take this same structure, and introduce other nouns as well. Beyond that, you could also use this structure (with tiny amendments) to teach new verbs. By adding only a few dozen words, you can greatly expand your child's ability to enjoy stories!

Keep it simple, and everything can be understood!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun book to learn counting August 13, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

This is a cute book in the beginner books series which helps learn to count in a little different way. Familiar Seussian wordplay is fun to read and fun for the kids. Overly cautious parents should be aware of themes such as a big bear chasing the main characters out of her house with a mop, a rolling pin, etc.