ANIMAL NUMBERS

by Bert Kitchen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1987

In a companion volume to Animal Alphabet, Kitchen illustrates the numbers from one to ten, plus 15, 25, 50, 75, and 100, with ""How many babies in each mother's brood?"" The elegantly serifed black numerals, a dramatic seven or eight inches high and displayed on a pure white ground, are variously festooned, reclined on, or otherwise embellished by the animal families, exquisitely delineated in soft colors. From the single kangaroo peering from its mother's pouch to the 100 frogs in various stages of development--from egg to tiny, perfectly complete frog perched between its mother's bulging eyes--the deployment of the animals is inspired by a fine sense of design (the swan's neck reflecting the curve of number 2 is an obvious example), variety (8 serves as a fish tank), and sheer virtuosity (25 golden garter snakes are twined in rhythmic coils with the mother linking the two digits across a double spread). The animals are identified, with brief notes on their families, on the final page. A splendid addition to counting books, to books with animal pictures, to books of artistic merit.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1987

ISBN: 0718826817

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Dial

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1987

Categories: CHILDREN'S