Ducks with attitude ! (Nine ducks nine - Sarah Hayes)

Member Name: mumsymary

Product:	Nine ducks nine - Sarah Hayes
Date:	20/05/07 (135 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good early number book

Disadvantages: none

Sarah Hayes wrote and illustrated the children’s book nine ducks nine. She also is the illustrator of the flimble’s and has illustrated and written many children’s books.

Doing my bit for recycling I was in my local charity shop. I came across nine ducks nine for a few pence. I bought this for my grandson who is 4. I think this book would be suitable for a child 3 years and up to about 6 or 7.

This book will be ideal for my grandson as it is a foundation reader Adrian recognises his name and a few other words, he recognises most letters. This book is really a maths book. Adrian recognises his numbers and can count .This book will help his subtraction as the book starts with 9 ducks and on each page something happens to one of them and the numbers are slowly going down , at the end of the book all 9 ducks are united..

Let me tell you a little about the story behind the counting. This book has nine ducks walking out in line (as ducks do)
They are being watched by Mr Fox. One duck runs away, one duck swims away, and another flys away each page a duck leaves the scene by one method or another. As well as the 4 lines between4 and 8 words on each alternate page there are speech bubbles from the ducks, they say cute things like foxes don’t scare me , I cant see the fox foxes are silly and on each page one duck has had enough and says I’m off.. The
Ducks all meet at the rickety bridge, where Mr Fox finds them Mr Fox pounces ….. The bridge breaks splash Mr Fox falls into the river the nine ducks swim away, saying stupid fox that was fun, Mr Fox gets out of the river dripping saying stupid ducks. But Mr Fox never chased those ducks again .So the ducks all live happily and fox goes hungry.

I like the way that the illustrations are drawn they are quite comical the way the ducks are drawn with attitude, the countryside scene the animals are in water colours very delicate greens and blues. The ducks have a black pen and ink out line to define them. Sarah’s art work is very good.

When you read the words to your children you can point or get them to point to the ducks counting them, your child can see if they can find the fox who is usually half hidden spying on the ducks. The words used in the text are simple words that a child will be able to read once they have begun to read.

I am sure this will be read /looked at more than a basic counting book with a picture on one side and the number on the other as it is more interesting and fun. We all learn better when we are having fun.

Summary: A counting down number book