At the Edge of the Woods, A Counting Book ~ Picture Book & KID KANDY

At the Edge of the Woods, A Counting Book
By Cynthia Cotten
Illustrated by Reg Cartwright
(Henry Holt and Company, 2002)

What first attracted me to this book was the illustrations. They are vibrant, nature-based, colorful, and big! My next thought about checking out At the Edge of the Woods, A Counting Book was that this book is about nature, the woods, animals, and counting! Sounds like a perfect picture book to me.

At the Edge of the Woods, A Counting Book is written in rhyme. I can hear the singsong chant rhythm when I read the words. Numbers and number words are highlighted and featured on each page. Readers will enjoy counting up to ten and seeing what animals come next in the story. At ten, a big burly bear comes out from his lair, which leads to a countdown from ten as all the animals scatter away to hide.

Early readers and preschoolers will love At the Edge of the Woods, A Counting Book. I think even my grandson will enjoy it, though he is going to first grade and can count beyond 10. He loves to go camping, so this book will remind him that bears live in the woods and may sneak out while he is camping.

I suppose we shall have to discuss how bears most often stay far away from humans, unless they leave out tasty garbage and food. But it will be worth the talk to enjoy this book.

KID KANDY:

Counting and Singing Fun

Dig out 10 toy animals. They don't have to be forest animals. Hide all the animals under a dish towel. Bring out one at a time, counting animals as you go. How many do you have?

Play this counting game with a friend or sister or brother. Choose the scariest animal and make it be the last one to line up. Pretend that it scares all the other animals and they run away and hide! Count down from ten as they run away.

Now you can count from 1 to 10 and back down again.


You can also sing and count at the same time. Here are some silly songs to sing.


"One, Two, Buckle My Shoe"

"Five Little Ducks"

"Five Green and Speckled Frogs"