Over in the Meadow: A Counting-out Rhythm

Welcome to a lush meadow bustling with activity, where one turtle digs, two fish swim, three bluebirds sing, and so on to ten fireflies that shine in the night. Keats's collage-style illustrations perfectly complement this classic Appalachian counting rhyme, which is also a popular song for toddlers.

An old nursery poem introduces animals and their young and the numbers one through ten.

"Over in the meadow, in the sand, in the sun,/Lived an old mother turtle and her little turtle one./"Dig!" said the mother./"I dig," said the one./So he dug all day,/In the sand, in the sun." With Keats's vibrant collage art, the animals in this classic counting rhyme are given a brand new life.

"Each double-page evokes a perfect mood."-New York Times Book Review

Children's Literature

Young readers will delight in this old favorite poem about nature and numbers. Keats does a terrific job bringing to life the relationship between mothers and their young in his vivid illustrations. The reader cannot resist the temptation to sing its verses out loud and shout out the many animal sounds identified. It is unfortunate that the musical transcript is not included for those who have not heard this poem sung before. Readers will not only learn about nature and its relationships and sounds, but will also have the opportunity to strengthen their understanding of the numbers one through ten. This is the perfect book to be used in the classroom when rhyming, counting, and natural science are all part of the curriculum. Part of the "Picture Books" series.

Admired as much for his inventive, colorful illustrations as his simple, earnest stories, Ezra Jack Keats literally changed the face of children s literature by introducing African-American characters into a mostly white genre. His gentle, big-hearted books have been loved by generations of children of all races.