Publishers Weekly
- Publisher's Weekly
Bold colors dominate Hutchins's (Titch) gouache paintings, framed in fire-engine red and featuring characters depicted as hinged wooden people and animals. The rhyming, sing-song text counts down from 10 as a succession of farm animals consume apples from a tree, beginning with a horse: "Ten red apples hanging on the tree./ Yippee, fiddle-dee-fee!/ Horse came and ate one,/ chomp, chomp, chomp./ Neigh, neigh, fiddle-dee-fee./ `Horse!' cried the farmer./ `Save some for me!' " For each verse, an animal takes its fruit, then moves to the right side of the spread, creating a cumulative visual effect. After the ninth animal helps itself to the tree's bounty, a sole apple remains for the farmer, but none for his wife, who hopes to bake a pie. In the closing spreads, the farmer spies another tree bearing 10 apples, setting youngsters up to start all over again. Hutchins's repetitive narrative, with its long vowel sounds coupled with crayon-bright toy characters, will invite audience participation and boost beginning readers' self-confidence. Ages 3-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|
Children's Literature
- Children's Literature
In this cheerful book, toy characters help the young reader discover the meaning of the numbers from one to ten. A farmer and his wife and nine charming animals all like apples. Enter the farmer to pick the apples, but each of the animals takes a turn first. "Save some for me," begs the farmer, until there is only one apple left for him to pick. There are zero apples on the tree, when the farmer's wife arrives with her empty basket. Happily, they all see another tree and there is the promise of a pie. The simple folk-art style of the illustrations makes the action of subtraction easy to understand. Included in the text are appropriate words for animal names, actions, and voices. Children will welcome back Rosie, the hen who took a walk, and the resourceful couple from Changes Changes. 2000, Greenwillow/Harper Collins, Ages 2 to 6, $15.95. Reviewer: Margarette Reid
From The Critics
Catchy rhymes featuring apples, farmers, animals, and colorful puppet characters help youngsters count down from ten to zero. (The concept of zero is unusual for a children's counting book.) 2000, Greenwillow Books, $15.95. Ages 3 mo. to 5. Reviewer: M. Pasela-Grimley SOURCE: Parent Council Volume 8
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2-A concept book that blends rhyming, counting, repetition, and animal sounds into a charming, folksy story. Hutchins's trademark wooden figures-including the farming couple from Changes, Changes (Macmillan, 1971)-populate this delightful tale in which a farmer watches his animals eat bright red apples from the tree. "`Horse!' cried the farmer. `Save some for me!'" When there is just one apple left, he picks it ("Yippee, fiddle-dee-fee!"). Then along comes his wife, who finds "No red apples to bake in a pie. Fie, fie, fiddle-dee-fee!" The farmer saves the day when he finds another tree and they fill the basket with "More red apples hanging on a tree." The bouncy singsong text begs to be read aloud. The rhyme is easy and smooth, with a catchy refrain. An added surprise is the appearance of Rosie the hen from Rosie's Walk (Macmillan, 1968). The gouache paintings are bright and clear, and the palette includes many colors beyond the primary tones of red, blue, and yellow. There is a cheery border at the top and bottom of each page. The endpapers show the happy couple counting apples from 1 to 10 and back again. A delicious selection from a master of simplicity.-Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|
Kirkus Reviews
A farmer's bountiful apple tree is besieged by his hungry livestock in this lively countdown from the author of countless clever concept books. Rhyming verses tell the tale of the hapless farmer as he watches his animals gobble up his shining apples. The whole barnyard emerges one by one, from mighty horse to tiny hen, to sample the succulent fruit, emitting their distinctive calls when they're through. "Duck came and ate one, / pick, pick, pick. / Quack, quack, fiddle-dee-fee." Each time a piece of fruit is consumed, the farmer counts the remaining apples, beseeching the animals to leave one for him. Every number has its own two-page spread, with the featured numeral in oversized red text and the appropriate number of apples lined up next to it. Hutchins's (Pink Pig, 1994) exuberant verses will have children chanting the refrain "fiddle-dee-fee" along with the farmer. Her vivid illustrations dazzle the eye with brilliant colors. A red outer border frames the pictures, which contain a festive row of sunny yellow flowers, running along the top and bottom of the page. The characters, both animal and human, resemble brightly colored wooden toys—as if a child's toy set had suddenly become animated. The illustrated end pages provide additional counting practice for readers; counting up to ten on one side and down to one on the facing page. A welcome addition to the counting-book genre, Hutchins's playful tale is an edifying and energetic romp. (Picture book. 3-5)
