Counting on Fall

PreS-Gr 2—While this book offers opportunities to practice math skills and to learn seasonal plant and animal facts, the merging of these two topics seems forced. Each spread poses a question that requires counting, adding, subtracting, or estimating. Attractive collage art represents vibrant autumn leaves, fruits and seeds, honking geese, and hungry bats as well as some less-familiar animals like grackles, pronghorns, and pikas. The fact that nature is random, however, makes it peculiar to think of butterflies lining up in rows of 10 or antelopes neatly marching in pairs. Flatt even makes this observation herself when she says, "So… nature knowing numbers?/No not really true./The only creatures to need numbers?/Actually, just you!" The "Nature Notes" section is a valuable feature, but the brief, encyclopedialike entries could easily be found elsewhere. This is a visually appealing book, but the unremarkable content makes it a supplementary purchase for most libraries.—Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT