What in the World?: Numbers in Nature

Day’s simple rhyming text encourages children to count natural phenomena. From one moon and sun to stars in “sets too big to count,” her examples give viewers opportunities to hone their skills. The large format encourages group participation. For the most part, the items to be counted are easily identified. Five arms on five sea stars and eight undulating octopus limbs are exceptionally clear. The seven colors of the rainbow shading from one to another will be harder to distinguish, and the child’s crossed arms hide one finger. Yet, Cyrus’s thoughtfully composed illustrations will reward…

This more-than-a-counting-book introduces things recognizable in numbered sets. The compact, rhyming narrative rhetorically asks readers to think about numbers in the world, beginning and ending with eyes on the sky: "What in the world comes one by one? / A nose. A mouth. The moon. / The sun." Young listeners who comprehend the world through the ways it can be measured will find this gripping and consoling. For little ones who like to enumerate their world, here's an affirmation that much of it can be counted, appreciated for its finitude, and observed in its varied, living parts. The…

In this calm counting book, Day (A Is for Alliguitar) numbers elements in nature: “What in the world comes one by one?/ A nose. A mouth. The moon. The sun.” Day’s rhyming text follows this formula from one to 10, detailing things that come “two by two” (birds’ wings) and “in threes” (clover leaves and bees’ segmented bodies). For “eight by eight,” Day names “Octopus limbs that undulate,” and in case anyone thinks first of spiders’ legs, an author’s note suggests each reader “look for a numerical set in the world around you.” (Nine is a tough one, and the nine-spined stickleback fish fills the…

“The numerical nature of nature forms the basis of this elegant rhymed counting book, which calls attention to orderly patterns all around us. What comes grouped in threes? “Leaves of clover, bodies of bees.” Nines? “Stickleback fish’s prickly spines.” We end with a set that is “too big to count” – stars in the night sky, in constellations shaped like the previous numbered things.”

The delightful rhythm and layout of this counting bookkeeps the reader guessing what element of nature will be featured from page topage. Beginning by finding things in nature that come one by one, the authorbuilds the story to ten and beyond, ending with stars too numerous to count.The questions presented in the text, such as “What in the world comes groupedin nines?” will engage readers as they attempt to discover the answers. Therhyming text is well-placed on the page and flows well with the delicateillustrations. This book will intrigue budding scientists, and would be a greatselection…

"What in theworld comes one by one?" begins this delightful, rhythmic book aboutfinding numbers in nature by Nancy Raines Day (Way Down Below Deep; PiecingEarth & Sky Together). The answer is: "A nose./ A mouth./ Themoon./ The sun." "What in the world comes two by two?" "Apair of birds with wings of blue." Threes? "Leaves of a clover,bodies of bees." Four by four? "Petals of poppies, hooves—andmore." Five by five? "The arms of sea stars, all alive." It'salways exciting to come across a book that offers up a new perspective on theworld, and the beautiful, expansive compositions of Kurt Cyrus…