Olive A. Wadsworth (1835–1886)

Over in the Meadow
“Over in the Meadow” by Olive A. Wadsworth not only helps students learn to count, but will have you singing the rhyme as you go along. I really like this book because I remember singing the rhyme when I was little. “Over in the meadow in the sand in the sun, lived an old mother turtle and her little turtle one. Dig said the mother. We dig said the one. So they dug all day in the sand in the sun”. Each page as a full illustration of the animal and the number being show more counted with the adjoining page having the printed text. Young readers will memorize this book and actively participate with the patterned language that can be sung along to. The plot is organized by counting from one to ten and reinforcing that number through the illustrations. For example, the number six has an illustration of six little crows in the next with their Mommy. The only part of the book I do not like is the rhyme for the number seven. “Over in the meadow where the grass grows so even, lived an old mother frog and her little froggies seven”. Unless the reader changes the way “even” is pronounced, seven and even do not rhyme. However, that one little issue won’t stop me from wanting to read this book again. The big idea is counting one to ten with a fun rhyming pattern that can be sun. show less

I like the book for two reasons. The first reason is the flow of the book. I enjoyed the combination of rhyme with the skill of counting. For example, “Over in the meadow in a snug beehive, Lived an old mother bee and her little bees five.” All of the animals have a rhyme with their assigned number which helps make the amount more memorable.
I also like the illustrations. I like how each page is inviting and “cutesy.” The illustrator was able to make bees, mice, lizards, and other show more typically undesirable animals adorable. My favorite page, based on illustration, is the page with the nine baby crows. I love the highly the contrasting colors of the mother crow with the black of the feathers and the white of the flowers. These illustrations are fascinating to look at and capture an audience very well. The main point of this book is to count through the theme of baby animals. show less

Having heard this poem sung as part of a literacy class in college, I find it impossible to even read this title without singing the lyrical text to myself. This beautiful poetic counting book is an absolute classic, filled with picturesque vocabulary and cute imagery of woodland creatures. Classroom expansions range from math content to an introduction to ecosystems. I love this book, and hope to read it to my students someday.

Counting may not be some children's favorite, but if you add cute animals and an catchy tempo how could any child resist learning numbers? It is known that a good portion of children have difficulty grasping mathematical concepts, but brightening things up with lovable animals can sure help bring them along.