Clare Beaton

This is a very simple counting book, but I absolutely loved it for two reasons. The first is that this is the only board book I've seen so far that tackled numbers all the way up to 20, which is a very handy addition to have in a classroom library. The second is that although each page's text simply notes a number and animals corresponding to that number, it also ends with "but where's the cat?" In each page's illustrations, which are fabulously fun creations using felt pieces and assorted show more other goods like sequins and buttons, there is a small cat hiding. The toddlers in my class - even the most reluctant listeners - were so excited to look for the cat on every page that this book held their full attention and they asked to see it over and over again! show less

These are all very cute nursery rhyme illustrations done by Claire Beaton by cutting out pieces of cloth and putting them together to make pictures (what is that called?) and of course Emmett does not recognize the craft that goes into them but regardless he likes these new versions of the images that go with these old favourites and this in particular has become his favourite version of Humpty Dumpty. There's a big HD with a smile and then a little upside-down HD having a great fall, and show more Emmett goes "Little Humpty Dumpty okay!" as a way of reassuring himself. He is a high-strung kid but also showing himself to be so good at bootstrapping himself into something approximating adult (or older kid) resilience. My brave smart son. show less

There are many many collections of nursery rhymes available. This is a contender for the best, the one to buy for a shower gift. The illustrations are timeless, will not become dated or 'quaint.' There are a lot of rhymes I actually didn't know, and extra verses to some I thought I did know, which also makes it special.

Somehow, though, it's not *my* personal favorite, maybe because the characters don't have very rich personalities (difficult to put extra facial expressions or body language show more in felt & needlework). And I, personally, found the idea of looking for the goose feather on each page tedious - but some families will no doubt love to do so.

3.5 stars show less

To start, I was immediately drawn to this book because of the illustrations on the front cover. It appears that the illustrator cut and sewed all of animals, people, and objects needed for the photos, and then photocopied them to become pages on the book. I thought that this was really neat because it is something I have not seen an illustrator do before. The illustrations also fill up the entire page, so that is very beautiful as well. While reading, I was more drawn to the story because of show more the pictures. The writing in this book would appear to look like a poem if it was all laid out on one page. The last word rhymes with the last word in the line that follows. For example, “There’s a cow in the cabbage patch, moo, moo, moo! She should be in the dairy, what shall we do?” The pattern continues throughout the book until the end when it is dinner time and the animals can finally go back to where they belong. I also like how at the end of the book, a two page spread of the farm is laid out with all of the buildings labeled, such as the barn labeled barn. This makes it easier for the reader to put in perspective where everything is on this farm, and how they all are in a close community together. The big idea of this story is to teach readers which building farm animals live in and the noises they make. I actually did not know that what lambs live in is called a meadow. show less