A Mama Duck does some clever math when it comes to keeping track of her dozen ducklings. Twelve is just too many to count, so on their first day out, Mama Duck puts her brood into six lines of twos. Now she only has to count six—2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12—six times two. But six is still a lot. On each succeeding day, she places them into bigger groups, counting by threes, fours and finally by sixes. In the end, her tricky counting fools a hungry wolf. Expecting only two ducklings, he’s surprised by the combined assault of 12. Chae painlessly introduces young children to grouping, multiplying and skip counting. A combination of oil pastels, paint and textured paper collage, Rew’s artwork mirrors the math, allowing children to visualize the groupings, while also tracking the progress of the creeping wolf. Sure to be a favorite with elementary and preschool teachers; pair it with Ruby Dee’s Two Ways to Count to Ten (1999). (Picture book. 4-8)
