Product Description

What do one hundred sunbathing snails have in common with ten crabs in inner tubes? Check out this mirthful counting book with a focus on feet.

If one is a snail and two is a person, we must be counting by feet! Just follow the sign to the beach, where a bunch of fun-loving crabs, lounging dogs, gleeful insects, and bewildered-looking snails obligingly offer their feet for counting in a number of silly, surprising combinations - from one to one hundred!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #436731 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-01
• Released on: 2003-05-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-The Sayres offer readers a fresh look at counting with a simple concept: the number of feet different animals have. The book begins with a snail's one foot, and then moves on to 2 for humans, 4 for dogs, 6 for insects, 8 for spiders, and 10 for crabs. Each odd number is represented by the even-numbered animal plus one snail. After 10, the numbers go by 10s to 100, with the number shown in two ways, for example: "70 is seven crabs- or ten insects and a crab. 80 is eight crabs- or ten spiders." All the animals are pictured on the beach, where most of them are involved in typical actions for their species; the fun-loving, playful crabs, however, bicycle, dance underwater limbo, play volleyball, and try new diversions on almost every page. Very simple text in large type is appropriate for group use as well as beginning readers. Uncluttered, black-outlined, oil-on-paper pictures clearly illustrate the concepts, and Cecil's googly-eyed snails, sports-minded crabs, and other animals add a touch of humor. Whether used with children just beginning to count or grade schoolers starting to multiply, this original and clever book will have wide appeal.
Louise L. Sherman, formerly at Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
April Pulley Sayre and Jeff Sayre are a husband-and-wife team who lead ecotours and travel extensively to study, photograph, and videotape animals in the rain forests of Panama, Madagascar, and Ecuador. They also speak at schools, botanical gardens, zoos, and nature festivals. Together they wrote a natural history book for adults. Jeff Sayre is an ecologist specializing in native plants and birds. April Pulley Sayre is an award-winning author of more than forty books for children. The Sayres love to brainstorm and laugh together - which is how the idea for ONE IS A SNAIL came about.


Randy Cecil graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and is the illustrator of numerous books for children. He says of ONE IS A SNAIL, "It was great fun to figure out how these strange creatures would react in all these different combinations. Crabs seem to have the best time together!"

Customer Reviews

Count on this one!
One Is a Snail, Ten Is a Crab is a rare success--it's fun and educational at the same time. Clever combinations of characters' feet will keep readers turning pages to find out what adds up next. Humorous illustrations of appealing animals are a plus in this delightful counting book!

Math should always be this much fun!
Creatures with varying amount of feet lend themselves to be part of a mathematical beach party. Youngsters are drawn into this story by bright, colorful humorous but simple illustrations. Crabs are the real stars as they bicycle, limbo, and play beach volleyball across the pages. While following the story, readers gain an understanding of numbers, counting, adding, and sets. Readers also discover the world of science while reading about these playful animals. Don't miss this very creative book.