COUNTING ON THE WOODS: A Poem

by George Ella Lyon ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1998

A book organized around a counting theme features crisp, close-up photography--in colors so vivid, they hardly seem real--to celebrate the beauty of a forest in Kentucky. Creating more of a rhythmic text than the poem suggested by the subtitle, Lyon (Ada's Pal, 1996, etc.) offers thoughtful notions as well as more ordinary ones: ""Two birds, daybreak's words"" fares better than ""Six tracks./Who's coming back?"" Olson identifies not only her subjects but the locales, as a child walking alone in the woods sees what the photographs document. There are unusual beetles, a close-up of worms, hidden nests, and wildflowers captured or arranged in clear, visible compositions. Neither a true counting book, nor a strictly informational book, nor a story, this succeeds in all its riveting detail as a tribute to a place that both author and photographer hold dear.

Pub Date: March 1, 1998

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 32

Publisher: DK Ink

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998

Categories: CHILDREN'S