1 2 3 Count to ten with Gumnut Babies

Pictures by May Gibbs. Scholastic, 2011. ISBN 9781742830230.
(Age 2-4) Recommended. Board book. Another beautiful book featuring May Gibbs' classic illustrations of the gumnut babies, children will learn to count the numbers 1 to 10 in this book. Each number has wonderful pictures from the May Gibbs collection.
Especially delightful is the number 1, 'One special hug' which has a lovely wattle fairy hugging a tiny baby. 'Four cuddly chicks' perched in a nest, with their mouths wide open ready to be fed, will engage a young reader's attention. I have a wattlebird nesting in a hanging basket on my verandah and these little chicks look just like the babies in the nest!
Another feature of the book is the way it is organised. Young children will have fun counting the little gumnut babies, wattle babies, Australian plants, insects and birds, and looking carefully on the page to find the one that is often hiding in foliage. Each page has both the number and the word for the number featured on the page so that they both can be highlighted.
I love this little book and it is winging its way to London for my grandchildren.
Pat Pledger