Over in the Forest: Come and Take a Peek

Do you know what baby opossums are called? Based on the rhythm of the folk song “Over in the Meadow,” author Marianne Berkes’s latest counting book in rhyme presents various forest animals and their offspring, from a mother beaver and her “little kit one” to a father red fox and his “little kits ten,” including a shy mother ‘possum and “her little joeys three,” all beautifully portrayed by Jull Dubin’s cut-paper illustrations. In addition to the reinforcement of learning how to count, children are introduced to the different creatures and their babies. Following the tracks of these ten woodland animals, young readers will become acquainted with how to leap like a squirrel and dunk like a raccoon. And, of course, show more you know what the nine little skunk kits do, don’t you?
To help make the book interactive, there is a hidden animal at each opening for youngsters to hunt and find. And to provide even more educational value, there are pages in the back with further information about the temperate forest ecosystem, the hidden animals, and the main animals pictured, along with tips from the author and the illustrator, and finally the complete song with both music and words. Over in the Forest will be a delight for young and not-so-young nature lovers. Other Dawn Publications books in the “Over” series by Berkes include Over in Australia: Amazing Animals Down Under; Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme; Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef, all three of which I have previously reviewed; and Over in the Arctic: Where the Cold Winds Blow. show less

This book is for primary aged students. This book goes into many different species of animals and what they do in the forest. It is both an informational text about nature, but also a counting book inclusion the number of different animals. This is a good use of an information text for very young students.

Over in the forest has a counting element and a teaching ecology component. The book talks about different animals in the forest and what they do. There are 10 different animals with an ascending number of children to count. The art is a sort of collage, and the in the back there are a few pages about forests. There are other secrets to look for too, which makes this a good book for kids to explore and read a few times.

A variation on the song "Over in the Meadow," the engaging text introduces readers to a variety of forest animals. Lovely cut paper illustrations.

Over in the Forest: Come and Take a Peek is about different woodland creatures and how the live within their family structure. Each page highlights a different number until they end where they reach the number ten. A different animal represents a different number and in the end come together to complete the poem, or rhyme.

Great illustrations, fun verse, great book to read to kids.

counting book introducing the different types of animals that live in the forest and some of their attributes.
7 books