One Watermelon Seed

by Celia Barker Lottridge, Karen Patkau (Illustrator)

Overview

In this deceptively simple counting book, Max and Josephine tend their garden while readers follow along, counting from one to ten as the garden is planted. Then readers can count in groups of tens as the garden is harvested, while they search through the pictures for the many small animals that are hiding throughout. A concise and clever text introduces color and rhythm, and the illustrations are bright and engaging, making this a perfect counting book for children aged four to seven.

Praise from Logic Roots:
"...one of the best math books that is fun, colorful and loved by many children..."

Praise from Dreambox Learning:
"...this book gets into counting in a serious way. It doesn't just take your child from 1 to 10, but it goes all the way up to 100! So Lottridge's book is good for children from kindergarten through second grade. Younger children will learn the lower numbers, and enjoy the pictures and the story even if they don't comprehend all of the numbers. Older children will get a review of the basics and then be introduced to the concept of counting in groups of ten, which is good preparation for learning multiplication."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554552221
Publisher:	Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Limited
Publication date:	08/14/2012
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	631,422
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Celia Barker Lottridge is a storyteller and multi award-winning author of picture books and novels for children, including The Name of the Tree, Ticket to Curlew, Wings to Fly, and The Little Rooster and the Diamond Button. Formerly a children's librarian and bookseller, Celia was born in Iowa City, Iowa, and lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Karen Patkau is an author, designer, visual artist and visual arts educator. She has illustrated a number of picture books, including One Hungry Heron, Don't Eat Spiders, and A Good Trade. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Karen lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Editorial Reviews

Praise from School Library Journal: Numbers, colors, and gardening are combined in this vividly illustrated counting book. The story starts as Max and Josephine plant a garden, first 1 watermelon seed, then 2 pumpkin seeds, and so on all the way to 10. The phrase, "and they grew" follows mention of each new set of seeds. The graphic-style illustrations depict the seedlings as they grow, with an occasional gardening glove, tool, watering can, or young hand inserted into the scenes. After a center spread with colorful plants filling the pages to capacity and Max and Josephine busy at work, it's time for the harvest.
 
The fruits and vegetables are so plentiful that they must be counted in tens: "ten watermelons, big and green, and twenty pumpkins, glowing orange." The vibrant colors and close-up views of the produce make it look delicious and irresistible. Later, on a cold winter night, the children turn "one hundred ears of corn" into "100s and 1000s of big, white crunchy puffs" of popcorn. Throughout the book, the text runs along the bottom of the double-paged illustrations, with the numerals, in bright colors, lining up beneath. This appealing book is great for classroom counting and discussions of seasons."

From the Publisher

Pres-Gr 2

Numbers, colors, and gardening are combined in this vividly illustrated counting book. The story starts as Max and Josephine plant a garden, first 1 watermelon seed, then 2 pumpkin seeds, and so on all the way to 10. The phrase, "and they grew" follows mention of each new set of seeds. The graphic-style illustrations depict the seedlings as they grow, with an occasional gardening glove, tool, watering can, or young hand inserted into the scenes. After a center spread with colorful plants filling the pages to capacity and Max and Josephine busy at work, it's time for the harvest. The fruits and vegetables are so plentiful that they must be counted in tens: "ten watermelons, big and green, and twenty pumpkins, glowing orange." The vibrant colors and close-up views of the produce make it look delicious and irresistible. Later, on a cold winter night, the children turn "one hundred ears of corn" into "100s and 1000s of big, white crunchy puffs" of popcorn. Throughout the book, the text runs along the bottom of the double-paged illustrations, with the numerals, in bright colors, lining up beneath. This appealing book is great for classroom counting and discussions of seasons. Pair it with Lois Ehlert's Growing Vegetable Soup (Harcourt, 1987).-Jane Marino, Bronxville Public Library, NY

School Library Journal