In the style of Giganti and Crews's How Many Snails? (1989), 11 opportunities for children to begin to grasp the concept of multiplication--or simply to count items that may mount into the 50s. The tone is unabashedly didactic: "Each duck said, `QUACK, QUACK, QUACK.' How many [big] ducks...? How many baby ducks...? How many `QUACKS' were there in all?" This may sound textbook- like, but plenty of other lessons are introduced in picture book format--so why not basic math? Giganti does leave young readers to make certain discoveries--e.g., the big and little ducks must first be combined if the total number of "quacks" are to be derived by multiplying. Crews's crisp, bright double spreads educate the eye to color and design while keeping the numerical component of his illustrations absolutely clear. A humorous final touch: the riddle about the man going to St. Ives--the context increases the difficulty! Unusually handsome and useful. (Picture book. 3-8)
