Louise Gardner

Louise Gardner, Farmyard Counting Book, (2003). Great Britain: Brimax.

The Farmyard Counting Book introduces little ones to numbers 1-10 using animals in a farm. The book takes a reader on a tour of the farm and its daily activities, starting with "One little tractor with work to do, helps the animals all day through," and building up to "Ten little chicks all want to rest, Little Tractor brings them straw for a nest." I would much prefer using this book rather than the Bananas for Lunch as a Beginner Book for counting - the format of Bananas for Lunch is busy whereas the text of the Farmyard Counting book doesn't detract the reader from counting the animals.… (mer)

My First Alphabet Book by Louise Gardner is an entertaining romp through the alphabet using animals engaged in a variety of zany activities. On the upper left-hand corner of each page, the letter of the alphabet is printed in uppercase and lowercase; below the letter is an illustration of a colorful animal (whose name begins with the corresponding letter) performing an activity that begins with the same letter. Each of the pages uses alliteration to reinforce the letter of the alphabet – for example: “An angry alligator eats apples” is on the first page of the book, and “A zebra zigzags to the zoo” is on the last page. The only letter of the alphabet which breaks the trend is the letter “x” which has a fox sitting on a box to illustrate the letter… although, to be fair, he is playing a xylophone, which does start with the letter “x.” Overall, Louise Gardner’s My First Alphabet Book (recommended for children 2-4 years old) is a cute, lively way to present the alphabet to young children.

Citation:
Gardner, Louise. My First Alphabet Book. Appledram Barns: Brimax, 2004. Print.… (mer)