This counting book is so much fun that the kids want to read it over and over. The drawings are colorful and the use of different animals excites the children. This is for preschoolers up to first grade.

The first thing that drew me to this book was its beautiful illustrations. When I read it with my 4-year old son, he loved counting the number of animals in the pond each time the page turned. It is a wonderful way for him to learn the concept of repetition from page to page and practice his counting skills. It also was a wonderful way for him to work on his higher-order thinking skills. On certain pages, an animal was out of the water, but its tail or leg might still be hanging in the water. It was very interesting to see my child debate whether this animal should be counted in the water or out of the water. This was an excellent book for this age-level.

A wonderfully simple story kids relate to helps them to see the results of adding and subtracting as visitors enter and leave a backyard pond. A few red herrings help advanced learners ferret out pertinent vs. non pertinent information. A crowd pleasing story to learn from.

I remember being way back in third grade - my class was in the library and the librarian read us this book. I barely was able to get a glimpse at the illustrations, but I remember them being superb. I have been searching high and low for this book, in libraries and bookstores gone by, and at long last I have found it. Ann Jonas has got to be one of my favorite children's book authors/ilustrators. Okay, so this is more of a reminiscence sequence than a book review, but I just remember this book being so wonderful. To everyone, children and adults alike, I recommend this book.

Reflection contains very thought provoking illustrations and simple text that can test a child's as well as an adult's imagination. Each time you read it, you will discover something new. Travel with this child from the beginning to the end of this book and back.

My daughter is 22 years old. But we both remember clearly the fun we had as we read The Trek and tried to find the animals hidden in the city background. They are so cleverly hidden, that a child cannot remember where they are, from 1 reading to the next. And we are still not sure we ever found them all!

This book fosters imagination as the child reads it, and helps the child to find wonders in clouds - and everywhere else in the world! It is wonderful.

I am an elementary school teacher who loves to read aloud to her students. My students are addicted to Ann Jonas' books. They especially loved this one because of all the searching for the different animals. It is even better than the I Spy books. The children can't wait to read another one of her books.

It's appropriate for age 3 & 4 year olds to learn to read the entire book by themselves. Wonderful as a first reader!

this book has always been a favorite of mine, ever since my mom first checked it out of the library for me. It has become a regular, and even though I'm now a teen, I still have not grown out of it. A must for all ages!

The first time that I read this book was with a group of four-year-olds. They enjoyed it so much that they immediately asked to have it read again. The story and pictures draw one into an imaginative world. The little girl in the story is looking for her stuffed dog, Sally, who is lost in the quilt. The squares of the quilt become a wonderful landscape with the little girl calling, "Sally!" trying to find her dog. The second time through the story the four-year-olds were calling, "Sally," along with me as I read. Delightful!

My son saw this one on Reading Rainbow and he was so fascinated by the pictures that we went right out and bought it. It is very cleverly done, and all my kids really like this one.

Basically, every picture tells TWO stories. You read the book through, then turn it over and read it upside down. A bridge with water running under it and cars driving over it become, when upside down, a fence with electric poles and wires running alongside and stars in the sky above! It's really a wonderful little book.

Only 4 stars because the story isn't interesting enough to read twice, although the pictures are great fun to look at over and over again.

This is a kids book about a trip to the city. it seems a little stupid at first, as every page has on line (i.e. "we went throught the tunnel"), but is a nice book. then, at the end of the kids trip to the city, they say "time to turn around and go home", and you turn the book over, and it has hidden in the pictures other pictures that appear upside down. EXTREMELY CLEVER. All black and white. also try REFLECTIONS by Ann Jonas, which is similar, but in color. A truely great boo. (for a kid to read, or a adult to marvel at) Any questions, E-Mail me. END

I was looking for a book to use to teach children common bird calls, and this book is one of the few books for young kids that touches on this concept. The author had an excellent idea, and it took a lot of creativity to come up with the scenarios in the book. They are interesting and amusing. Young kids who are really into birds and motivated to learn the calls might enjoy reading this book and going over the calls and learning the different birds. They might relate to the birds and enjoy the scenarios. That's on the plus side. On the minus side, less interested and motivated kids might be confused or bored by the book. On some pages there are uncommon birds and birds that make the same sound, which if you're not familiar with the calls already, might be confusing. Also, the birds are not labeled on the page, they are listed in the back. It is good that the information is there, but if you don't know the birds it breaks up the flow of the book to have to check in the back. Also, the pages had a lot of birds on them, and the juxtaposition made it hard to absorb the individual calls. A clever teacher might be able to make something of this book but I was hesitant to give it a try.

This book is really cute, and it would be great used with a tape/cd of bird songs. Kids love hearing those weird sayings birders make up to remember songs. Lots of potential for fun. Otherwise, the story is a little boring.

It is hard to think of an illustrated childrens' book as a bird guide. Yet, Bird Talk is an inventive bird guide for kids from age 3 to 83. My wife and I, bird watchers, heard about Bird Talk from one of our grandsons who was jabbering "Ooooh, Poor Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody" which we recognized as the White-throated Sparrow. Bird calls such as that DO appear in the adult bird guides. This is a durable book--it is going to last generations. It is illustrated in a fashion that kids can understand; the illustrations make adults [this adult] laugh. The author's "plot" is a dandy. This is a great book. I was so pleased with the first one we ordered that I ordered two more. Where are all of these grand children coming from?

Suprising the children by using vertically opened pages, this book begins with a simple storyline and evolves into listing an impressive range of exotically named animals. Jonas' lifelike watercolour illustrations with clean lines are given an unusual perspective through the playful use of scale and contrast of shapes. Included in the book is a good glossary of the animals named within the story, a pronunciation guide as well as a list of each animal's country of origin. I like the fact that Jonas included extinct animals in her listing which can serve as discussion sparkers on environmental and conservation concerns with children.