One Hungry Heron - Tapa dura

"Beck's unique take on the conventional counting book is filled with beautifully descriptive imagery that brings to life each creature using simple words and short poems... The cadence of each animal perfectly suits its actions, and evokes the rhythm of each creature for young readers."The colourful collage illustrations by Patkau will provide hours of absorbed study, with realistic details... The best counting books are those that encourage the child to participate in the process, and "One Hungry Heron" succeeds in spades with a search-and-find technique."-- " Canadian Children's Book News"Counting book, vocabulary builder, nature book and more, "One Hungry Heron" is one of this year's absolute must-buys by early years/elementary school libraries and public libraries. Highly Recommended." -- "CM Magazine"

"1 One hungry heron, tall and still, crooks her leg and tips her bill. 2 Two drowsy catfish, way down deep, snuffle through the muck, then go to sleep. 3 Three darting dragonflieshover and dip.Whiz! Pause! Whiz!Zoom! Zoom! Zip!"The scene starts out quietly enough, but soon the lone heron is joined by two lazy catfish and three darting dragonflies. Before you can say ten tiny turtles, the pond is alive with a great array of wetland wildlife. Told in clever rhyme, this is a counting book with a difference. Numbers are spelled out in bold text, decorated numerals adorn each page, and amounts are depicted by groupings of swimming, flapping, paddling, darting pond creatures. Up to ten and down again, the count goes forwards and backwards, as thunder rumbles in the background. Plip, plop, the rain begins and lightning flashes. Everything dives for shelter and stays hidden -- until the sun comes out. Then life returns to the pond providing a delightful search and count last page. Rarely is so much delivered in one spectacular counting book.