The repetition of numbers in English and Spanish makes it easy for anyone to learn to count from one to ten uno a diez in both languages. A sister, dressed as a magician, conjures up ten different sets of imaginative things, one after the other, but her little brother only wants one. Readers see why, in the end, as one very real puppy emerges from the magician s box. Anyone who has ever counted steps going upstairs or telephone poles passing a moving vehicle will admire Jennie s ability to keep track of several sets of numbers simultaneously. The circus comes to town, bringing acts of animals in groups that are constantly changing.
Answers appear in balloons in every page.
The lush splendor of a coral reef provides the setting for counting, adding, and subtracting as sea creatures move in and out of view, sometimes swimming away and other times becoming another creature s lunch. The text introduces the creatures and describes their numbers, and elsewhere on the page the same information is noted numerically. A considerable amount of information about undersea life is contained in this deceptively simple book. Many books are organized around the principle of counting backwards from ten, but few have the effect of this one, which shows how a stand of oak trees is steadily reduced, one at a time, until all that remains are bare fields and an empty skyline punctuated with powerlines. According to the author, an experiment has shown that crows can distinguish numbers up to seven.