Five for a Little One

by Chris Raschka

If you are a bunny, try a taste, take a gander, snuffle a sniff, relish a sound, and share a hug.

Everything around is waiting.

If you are a boy, or a girl, or a dog, or a kitty do like our friend Bunny.

And enjoy.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Animals, Counting, Rabbits, Science

48 pages, Hardcover

First published June 20, 2006

About the author

Chris Raschka is the illustrator of The Hello, Goodbye Window, which was awarded the Caldecott Medal. He is also the illustrator of the Caldecott Honor Book Yo! Yes?; Charlie Parker Played Be Bop; Mysterious Thelonious; John Coltrane’s Giant Steps; Can’t Sleep; and The Magic Flute. He lives with his wife and son in New York City.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smell? Imagine Raschka's watercolors, ink and potatoes for the printing. Hearing? The sounds of turning of pages. Sight? The great brush strokes, text in Helvetica Rounded, the gorgeous potato prints, and wonderful contrast of black & white with colors and pastels. Taste? Let's say imagined tastes. Touch? Finding the page edge to turn. This book can be an experience with a little creative lateral thinking.

[Lexi.vernaglia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was alright, it isn’t a book that I would go straight to if I were to read and teach kids how to count. However, it is a clever it took me up to number three to figure out what they were getting at throughout the story. The book only goes up to number five and it counts off one by one all five of our senses. One is for smelling, two is for hearing, three is for sight, four is for taste, and five is for touch. With each sense they have a little story that goes with it. It is a cute book, I think could be slightly confusing for small children. But I think the idea of teaching them to count to five along with teaching them the five senses is a great idea.
The pictures in this book looked like a kid drew them, so it fit the personality of the readers perfectly. It was as if a child took out there water colors and started painting along to the story. If the story couldn’t keep the children’s attention I think the pictures in the book would.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful picture book to introduce the five senses. The paintings are interesting and connect well with the text. I also like the fairly advanced vocabulary for such a simple book. This title might be a bit young for a K-5 elementary collection but I definitely recommend it for bedtime reading.

[Grace Willits · Rating 5 out of 5]

The five sense are discussed using a cute little bunny, covering a need to know topic for young children. Chris Raschka goes through each sense, describing what it is and how to use it the specific sense in Bunny’s life. Bunny is in black and white, making the colorful parts of each illustration pop off of the page. The most color is used for the third sense, sight, showing pink sunsets and yellow skylines. I like that the increased color is reflective of the sight sense. The story describes how noses are for smelling, ears are for hearing, eyes are for seeing, tongues are for tasing, and paws (hands) are for touching. At the end of the story, each sense is shown without words, students can guess which sense is being depicted in the illustrations. This is a good story to help young children understand their senses and when it is appropriate to use each one. This would be a great tool with special education students as well because it discusses how to use each sense. I suggest this book for any elementary classroom library!

[Asho · Rating 4 out of 5]

I continuously find myself drawn to Raschka's illustrations in the children's room at the library. I pick up a book because it has a bold, unusual, and attractive cover, get it home, and then realize it's illustrated by Chris Raschka. So, clearly I find his illustrations appealing, and I think my son does, too. This book was especially cool because the little bunny ended up being a mix of the two parent bunnies. I like the smudgy quality of the illustrations (apparently the illustrator used potato printing?), and I thought it was neat that just by body language I could clearly tell which bunny was the mom and which one was the dad.
I wasn't as impressed by the text. It's an introduction to the five senses, but for some reason it didn't flow well for me and felt a bit clunky at times.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always can use a new book on senses, for those numerous requests. However, I used this for my lap time rabbit program we had the counting and then I also used Peekaboo, Blueberry! (Which had multiple people asking for it.) to locate ears, eyes, mouth...5/2/12

Used again this year. 4/3/13

Need to remember to do this as the first book. It is a little long and I think would do better as a first book. 4/7/15

Worked okay as the second book in Lap Time, was a bit long for shy toddlers at PJ

[Gabriela Sansoval · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book that can be read aloud for children in the ages three to five. The rabbit explains the five senses, which provides great illustrations demonstrating each type of the five senses. The most thing that i liked that on the last pages it provides the numbers, which enhances the children learning. The children would not only be learning the five senses but they would also be practicing the numbers. Children would be really interested based on the illustrations.

[Karsyn Konecny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a counting book about the five senses. The book is very descriptive about the five senses which would be good for youn children to learn about. I would read this to a kindergarten class and talk about the five senses. I like it because it was a descriptive book which children can understand. I think that children in either kindergarten or first grade who are learning to read by themselves could read this book as well and understand it.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhyming text (occasionally forced) explains and gives examples of the 5 senses in this sweet and simple book that expands knowledge of the five senses while also reassuring children of their parents' love. Does specify two-parent family, and seems to indicate biological family by referencing "1 from 2".

[Megan Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably the most successful of the last batch, but still slightly strange for Andrew. He seemed to get it more than the others, and it was fun to talk about our senses with this. But we have another 5 senses book that is a little more obvious for someone as young as Andrew.

[Kendra Kinnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book were plain and simple. The few pictures in the back of "the little one" using his senses are beneficial to students. I liked the storyline and the rhymes used to help students learn the senses.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bunny experiences all five of his (her?) senses in a celebratory tone. For each, we have examples of some of its more joyous aspects: for smell - "sample scents of flowers and foods, oceans and woods." I love the design of this book with its white pages, fuzzy bunny and potato-printed objects.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely introduction to the 5 senses with Raschka's signature soft, melty style. I'm not sure the evocative text would hold my preschoolers' attention, but it's short enough that I'd be willing to try, and I think this would be a great one-on-one share with lots to talk about afterwards.

[Shanaria · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book focuses on the five senses. i enjoyed that it gave examples of each sense and then it also retold the story with out the words.


have kids name the five senses and give examples of what each is uused for.

[Kaitlyn Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the illustrations in this book. I was easily able to keep my students attention and the book taught them about their five sense at the same time. The pictures help to connect the sense with their understanding of what it means.

[IRIFF · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is simple, beautiful and fun. My son (19 months old) likes to play along by sniffing his nose, pulling his ears, winking his eyes and on and on. It's not one he asks for over and over again, but it holds his attention and makes him laugh.

[Kali Hilliard · Rating 2 out of 5]

K-1; informational; The illustrations are pretty dull. I do enjoy how easy it is for little ones to follow and learn about the five senses, but I feel they may not be able to stay focused with how bland the images are.

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

A most beautiful way to explore the five senses in print form.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abstract, yet interesting and effective, introduction to the five senses. A little strange for my taste, but well done.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book that teaches about the five senses in a poetic style, with simple illustrations and a short narrative that is a bit more abstract than your average book for children.

[Jess Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun illustrations, beautiful concept, simple writing - excellent choice for the youngest of readers.

[Paul Hankins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A celebration of the senses with Raschka's unique illustrations!

[Emily Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

PB31 - This book would be PERFECT for teaching preschoolers how to count and to use their senses! Love it!

[Prplpckl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A poetic exploration of the five senses.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful and loving book on our senses.

[Dulce Coronado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read for children and they can also learn about the five scenes! But most important is LOVE! The love parents have for their children.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Explore the five senses with a bunny. Watercolor, ink and potato prints were used to render the illustrations. This is a great read aloud for toddlers and preschoolers!

[Noushin Naziripour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for toddler time and teaching children about senses.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but not a very coherent story and not very memorable as far as teaching the senses goes. Maybe it was the phrasing, which was a little too clever.

[Bree · Rating 2 out of 5]

Notes:
abstract-looking bunny teaches pre-k kids the five senses