Counting Our Way to Maine

by Maggie Smith

Overview

First published in 1995 by Orchard Books, this book takes one baby, two dogs, and three bicycles on a journey from the big city to Maine's seacoast. Objects packed for the trip and things seen along the way are all happily counted, finishing in a shining finale as the family tallies 20 fireflies found during their last evening in Maine.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780892727759
Publisher:	Down East Books
Publication date:	04/23/2008
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	407,141
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

Editorial Reviews

PreS-Gr 1More than a counting book, this lively summer vacation story will be a welcome addition to anyone's bookshelf. The colorful, amusing pictures invite readers along on the trip and encourage them to look closely as they count up to 20 (fireflies). The journey itself is a realistic one for a family of five and two dogs``We had to stop for the bathroom six times!'' The warm-hearted family even buys ice cream for their pets. Smith's watercolor and pastels with ink marvelously blend details and humor. The parents and children build 11 sand castles, pick 15 boxes of blueberries, find 17 mushrooms, and get 18 mosquito bites. Dad bakes 16 pies while each dog eats 1 (behind his back), the mischievous baby is covered with blueberries, and the little girl adds marshmallows to her pie. An engaging summer offering, and a great concept book to boot.Janet M. Bair, Trumbull Library, CT

School Library Journal

While most counting books go from 1 to 10, this delightfully lively one proceeds all the way to 20. The clean, uncluttered endpapers provide a visual and numerical preview of an affectionate family's summer trip to Maine. There are babies, dogs, and bicycles to pack; bathrooms to stop at and ice-cream cones to eat; sandcastles to build, blueberries to pick, and clams to dig up. The humorous, animated mixed-media paintings are detailed enough to keep a generation raised on Waldo involved and counting. A cozy addition to picture-book collections, this also features the most satisfying of family values: love.

Julie Corsaro