1
One hungry heron,
tall and still,
crooks her leg
and tips her bill.
2
Two drowsy catfish,
way down deep,
snuffle through the muck,
then go to sleep.
3
Three darting dragonflies
hover and dip.
Whiz! Pause! Whiz!
Zoom! Zoom! Zip!
The scene starts out quietly enough, but soon the lone heron is joined by two lazy catfish and three darting dragonflies. Before you can say ten tiny turtles, the pond is alive with a great array of wetland wildlife.
Told in clever rhyme, this is a counting book with a difference. Numbers are spelled out in bold text, decorated numerals adorn each page, and amounts are depicted by groupings of swimming, flapping, paddling, darting pond creatures. Up to ten and down again, the count goes forwards and backwards, as thunder rumbles in the background. Plip, plop, the rain begins and lightning flashes. Everything dives for shelter and stays hidden — until the sun comes out. Then life returns to the pond providing a delightful search and count last page.
Rarely is so much delivered in one spectacular counting book.
"The colourful collage illustrations by Patkau will provide hours of absorbed study, with realistic details. . . The best counting books are those that encourage the child to participate in the process, and One Hungry Heron succeeds in spades with a search-and-find technique."
— Canadian Children's Book News
"Counting book, vocabulary builder, nature book and more, One Hungry Heron is one of this year's absolute must-buys by early years/elementary school libraries and public libraries.
Highly Recommended."
— CM Magazine
"If you're fortunate to have a cottage near water or access to a marshy area or pond, One Hungry Heron should accompany you and your littlest ones on your next trek there in off-winter seasons. Carolyn Beck's newest book, expertly illustrated by Karen Patkau who excels at capturing the natural world in digitally-created collages. . . Coupled with the distinct textures and subtle colours within the vegetation, water and substrates of Karen Patkau's collages, One Hungry Heron is a fluid visual and auditory composition linking outdoor scenes familiar to many Canadians with basic counting by one's, forwards and back."
— CanLit for LittleCanadians
"One Hungry Heron is spectacular in its ability to capture and convey the essence of ten animal species through vibrant illustrations and poetic verse."
— SB&F (Science Books & Films)
Karen Patkau
is an award-winning author and illustrator of many books for children including Don't Eat Spiders, Python Play and One Watermelon Seed. She lives in Toronto.
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