Sixes and Sevens

by John Yeoman, Quentin Blake

Counting doesn't have to be boring with this wonderfully quirky counting book illustrated by the esteemed Quentin BlakeWhen Barnaby sets off on his raft, his mother tells him to stop at each village on the way to Limber Lea. Along the way he ends up collecting a wild and surprising bunch of passengers. Will he be able to transport them all to Limber Lea without any mishaps?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

John Yeoman was for many years Head of English at the French Lycée in London. His collaboration with Quentin Blake began in 1960, and has resulted in a long list of successful children’s books of which a number of earlier well-loved titles are now being republished by Andersen Press for new generations of readers.

Reviews

[B-zee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hitung dari satu sampai sepuluh, Barnaby akan membawamu meski berpeluh
Menuju Limber Lea dengan rakit, berbekal kotak dari ibu jika merasa sulit
Mari berhitung satu dua tiga, meski yang ditemui tak terduga
Empat lima enam rombongan yang aneh, tapi sedikit berimajinasi tentu boleh
Tujuh delapan lihatlah warna ragam gambar, membuatku perhatikan detail dengan sabar
Karena sembilan sepuluh buku ini lucu, tulus dan cerdik orang akan hargai kerjamu

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Counting book about a boy who is taking his raft to Limber Lea and stops ten times inbetween to pick up things. At each place, one more thing is added so that the number 1-10 are learned.

The pictures look like ink drawings filled in with water colors on a pre-splotched background. Modern type of characters.

[Karen Dransfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

(2022) A quirky counting story about Barnaby who is travelling by his raft down to Limber Lea, and along the way he picks up passengers. He takes his big box of handy things in case of difficulties. And each stop he picks up a wide range of interesting and quirky passengers all needing to go to Limber Lea too. Quentin Blake's detailed artwork really adds to the whimsical tale. A lovely fun read.

[Emily Foster · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really nice way to bring numbers into the classroom through quite a funny book, however not my favourite. I think children will love Blake’s illustrations though.

[Clara bella rock]

When i first .read the book like that they have pretty graphics and the raft look so busy and stuff.

[Ange · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last thing I expected to be reading was a counting book. At my age! But it is a good one. Funny and interesting, more than can be said for most counting books.

[Vicki Purbrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful and typically illustrated book by Blake, using three types of illustration that define and bring more life to the pictures.

This is a quirky picture book that assists children to count to ten. There are noticeable patterns of repetition with the same phrases used with the turn of every page, with each page also containing rhyme and rhythm. the repetitiveness reinforces to children to understand the words, context and meaning.

I would not initially use this book for counting as I think all the text would confuse a young learner, perhaps a more simple counting book would be more suitable. However this book could complement the game of 'shopping' which is a memory game that can be played with a small group of children.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a fun little book. I really love Quentin Blake's art. And the story was also cute, I half expected the boat to sink with all the things on board. :)

[Zayneea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the items are a bit random and some are really outdated, but still a cute and fun way to learn how to count to 10.