Ten, Nine, Eight [Paperback]

Molly Bang (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: January 21, 2003 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years

"This beguiling picture book, with a palette of eye-filling colors, appears to arise from the love binding a father and his little `big' girl who turn bedtime into playtime with a rhyming game."--Publishers Weekly. "A loving book, perfect for sharing with the youngest lapsitters."--Booklist.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

According to PW , "This beguiling picture book, with a palette of eye-filling colors, appears to arise naturally from the love binding a father and his little "big" girl who turn bedtime into playtime with a rhyming game." Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A delightful bedtime book." -- The New York Times Book Review

"A loving family picture story." -- Boston Globe

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  
• Paperback: 24 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books; Reprint edition (January 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688104800
• ISBN-13: 978-0688104801
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 8 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #274,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Molly Bang is an award winning children's book illustrator and author. Her
works include 3 Caldecott Honor Books: Ten, Nine, Eight, The Grey Lady and the
Strawberry Snatcher, and When Sophie Gets Angry - Really, Really Angry, which
also won a Jane Addams Honor Award and the Arbuthnot Award. The Paper Crane
won the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award in 1987; Goose won the School of Library
Journal Best Book of 1996 and another work, Common Ground: The Water, Earth,
and Air We Share, won the prestigious Giverny Book Award in 1998 for the best
children's science picture book. Her latest book, My Light, is an ALA Notable
book.

Her only work for adults is Picture This, which shows how an understanding of
the most basic principles enable a person to build powerful pictures. It is
used by art and graphic departments in colleges around the country.

Bang received her bachelor degree from Wellesley in French, and Masters in
Far Eastern Studies at the University of Arizona and at Harvard. She has also
worked as a reporter; as an educator for public health projects in Bangladesh
and in Mali, West Africa, incorporating information on maternal and child
health into stories; and as a teacher in colleges.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Seven, six, five April 29, 2004

By E. R. Bird HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Board book

It's sort of a "Goodnight Moon" tale, but interesting. The book combines your average counting book (or, in this case, counting backwards book) with a bedtime sleepy story. Utilizing bright colors, interesting characters, and an eye for textures, author/illustrator Molly Bang has created a sweet simple story that does not annoy or condescend to the reader.

An African-American girl and her father count down to bedtime. There are ten toes on her feet. Nine fuzzy friends (including a clever and playful kitty). Eight windowpanes displaying the snow outside. It goes on. Each view of the bedroom is a comforting one. The observant reader might wonder why there are only seven shoes straightened under the crib, only to find that when we observe the five buttons on the girl's gown, the cat is proceeding to happily gnaw on the missing shoe. The delicate interactions between the girl and her father are undoubtedly the most tender parts of the story. Oftentimes we switch in the story from viewing things from the child's point of view (like her toes or her seashell mobile) to looking at the girl as she perches in her father's lap. After some goodnight kisses and a big hug to her furry bear pet, it's off to bed for the sweet sleepy little one. There is nothing in this book that will necessarily grab you by the guts and make you want to give this story to every man, woman, and child you know. It's just a delicately woven lullaby that expresses almost wordlessly the affection that exists between a father and his daughter. From the opening shot of the girl running to be in her dad's outstretched arms, to the final tucking in at the end of the night, the book touches a chord in the reader. It is sweet without overpowering you with its saccharine nature. Adorable without going overboard.... It is a beautifully balanced work of picture book art. Read more ›

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great bedtime countdown book October 4, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

My two year old daughter loves this book. It is a sweet book counting down to a little girls bedtime. The book goes through the little girls nighttime bedtime ritual, much like our daughters own bedtime countdown. At the end my daughter will always say "Night night!". I also like the presence of the little girls father in the book. You don't always see this in kids books.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Ten, Nine, Eight" Is Great! June 15, 2005

By Pam T TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

This book is on my entering-kindergartner's Summer Reading List and I can certainly understand its inclusion: good art and good story.

The drawings of father and child are just so sweet and endearing. My children can not get enough of it. Every night they want to put their little toes over the ones that are 'washed and warm' in the book. We count our window panes, and give kisses on 'cheeks and nose' too.

An excellent bedtime book. It is also the only book out of the 30 or so that we have read thus far, that made me say: darn I wish that I had run across this book alot earlier.

Definitely worth adding to the home library.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A colorful counting book. May 24, 1999

By R. D. Allison ([e-mail])

Format:Paperback

A child's counting book for pre-schoolers of a child going to bed. It was a 1984 Caldecott Honor book (i.e., runner-up to the Medal winner) for best illustrations in a children's book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent December 17, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Like all of Bang's work, this book is beautiful. The simple countdown to bedtime is made lively by the comforting illustrations of toys and other objects in the nursery; this cosiness is heightened even more by the snow outside the window. The ending is genuinely sweet. A winner.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars sleepy time October 26, 2004

By DustyPy

Format:Board book

This counting book uses tempera paints to create a warm inviting feeling as we watch a loving father put his daughter to bed. The book counts backwards in an almost hypnotic way sending the child to dreamland on a cold snowy night. The pride and love this father feels are beautifully shown in the illustrations. One almost feels as if they are intruding in on a magical bedtime ritual.

The illustrations are realistic in style showing detail in every picture. The colors are warm and dark to help the setting with a night time feel. Bang uses many patterns, as in the floral wallpaper and the rocky chair, but the pictures are not to busy or cluttered. If the illustrations are watched closely an underlying story of the cat can be seen as well. The reader might wonder where the missing shoe might have gone from under the bed on the number seven page. It is found on page five as the cat plays with it beside the rocking chair. It seems as if the cat is woken from its nap at the beginning of the story and has a little playtime before it retires to some other corner to continue with its sleep.

As a counting book Ten, Nine, Eight reinforces counting backwards. It can be a little confusing on the number nine page however. When counting the "friends" there is a horn that stands out but if the reader looks closely there is a small mouse on the dolls lap so there are actually ten objects in the picture. This could bewilder a small child trying to learn to count for themselves. Over all this is a wonderful book that would be a loving addition to any library to be shared with that special little sleepy child.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting children's book June 12, 2001

By "rahrae"

Format:Hardcover

I like reading this book. I like saying "Ten Nine Eight by Molly Bang" as we start. What a name the author has, and what a talent for making a simple book so engaging! The illustrations are comforting, with a continuity from page to page that is a nice touch. Also, since the father and daughter are African-American, this book brings a welcome diversity to the home library.