Have you ever wanted to be a biologist?
Have you ever wondered how they count all those animals in the wild?
Counting animals is great fun – and predicting the whole amount of animals in a pride, nest or swarm isn’t easy work when they don’t sit still for too long.
Animals in my garden by Bronwyn Houston is a great start for those budding scientists – and they only need to be able to count to ten!
The animals in this garden are all Australian animals and many of these animals we actually do see in our garden – we haven’t seen a snake yet but I’m sure they are around from time to time.
We loved counting the animals on each page and talking about the different places they were in the garden and the activity they were up to.
As a board book published by Magabala Books this is a colourful story for younger readers as not only are they listening to words, they are also learning about counting and Australian animals.
We also loved comparing this book to the original story by Bronwyn Houston – Counting Aussie animals in my backyard. By comparing the two books we were able to look at how the animals were placed differently, discuss why there were different adjectives and verbs and also wonder about which book would suit different readers.
Browyn Houston’s illustrations are detailed with texture, patterns and bright colours – just looking at them alone is a great joy!
Animals in my Garden is a wonderful addition to any little readers library!
So what else can you do?
- Create your own version of Animals in my garden by going outside and finding different animals that reside on your balcony, backyard or nearby park!
By helping your child explore the local environment you are showing them that they are not the only living thing around. When we realise that other living things also live near us we should be more aware of how everything we do impacts others.
When you create your own book you are not only helping your child to learn how to count but also count animals that are moving around in front of them. It doesn’t always have to be animals – insects are abundant in any open space so see what you can find!
- Have a go at creating your own illustrations too using the techniques Bronwyn Houston has used.
- Share your new book out loud to others – by creating something that others apart from the creator sees gives it more meaning and may inspire more creations!
