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Brian Wildsmith's Animals To Count
Wildsmith impresses us again! His exuberantly colored animals cavort across the pages, and children will enjoy learning to count and learn the names of the animals.
16 pages, Board Book
First published July 1, 1996
27 people want to read
About the author
Brian Wildsmith
250 books54 followersBrian Wildsmith (1930-2016) was raised in a small mining village in Yorkshire, England, where, he says, "Everything was grey. There wasn't any colour. It was all up to my imagination. I had to draw in my head..."
He won a scholarship to the Slade School of Fine Art where he studied for three years. For a while he taught music at the Royal Military School of Music, but then gave it up so that he could paint full time.
He has deservedly earned a reputation as one of the greatest living children's illustrators. In 1962, he published his first children's book, ABC, for which he was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal, Britain's equivalent to the Caldecott Medal. He was also a runner up for this medal for The Owl and the Woodpecker.
Wildsmith has said: "I believe that beautiful picture books are vitally important in subconsciously forming a child's visual appreciation, which will bear fruit in later life."
In 1994, the Brian Wildsmith Art Museum was established in Izukogen, a town south of Tokyo, Japan. Almost one and a half million people visited a traveling exhibition of his work in 2005. Eight hundred of his paintings are on loan to the museum.
Brian is married, has four children, and currently lives in the south of France.
— Source
He won a scholarship to the Slade School of Fine Art where he studied for three years. For a while he taught music at the Royal Military School of Music, but then gave it up so that he could paint full time.
He has deservedly earned a reputation as one of the greatest living children's illustrators. In 1962, he published his first children's book, ABC, for which he was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal, Britain's equivalent to the Caldecott Medal. He was also a runner up for this medal for The Owl and the Woodpecker.
Wildsmith has said: "I believe that beautiful picture books are vitally important in subconsciously forming a child's visual appreciation, which will bear fruit in later life."
In 1994, the Brian Wildsmith Art Museum was established in Izukogen, a town south of Tokyo, Japan. Almost one and a half million people visited a traveling exhibition of his work in 2005. Eight hundred of his paintings are on loan to the museum.
Brian is married, has four children, and currently lives in the south of France.
— Source
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 8, 2021
Great way to learn Spanish
March 17, 2014
Author: Brian Wildsmith
Illustration: Brian Wildsmith
Title: Animals to Count
Publisher: Star Bright Books
Copyright: 2008
Genre: Concept Book
Grade Level/ Age: 1 – 4 years
Lexile: n/a
Rating: 4
Summary/Reason for Rating: This board book teaches children numbers 1 – 10, as well as teaches them 10 different animals including: deer, tigers, mice, bears, woodpeckers, goats, weasels, pelicans, butterflies, and foxes. I give this a 4 rich colors and textures on each page, and for the unique choice of animals. The colors have a subtle soft feeling and the images look like they could be masterpieces of art hung on a wall. The main thing I do not like about the imagery is that they’re so complex and in depth and it may be hard for 1 – 2 year old to focus and see the animals clearly. The images are brilliant though and seem fitting to go into a children’s picture book about animals.
Illustration: Brian Wildsmith
Title: Animals to Count
Publisher: Star Bright Books
Copyright: 2008
Genre: Concept Book
Grade Level/ Age: 1 – 4 years
Lexile: n/a
Rating: 4
Summary/Reason for Rating: This board book teaches children numbers 1 – 10, as well as teaches them 10 different animals including: deer, tigers, mice, bears, woodpeckers, goats, weasels, pelicans, butterflies, and foxes. I give this a 4 rich colors and textures on each page, and for the unique choice of animals. The colors have a subtle soft feeling and the images look like they could be masterpieces of art hung on a wall. The main thing I do not like about the imagery is that they’re so complex and in depth and it may be hard for 1 – 2 year old to focus and see the animals clearly. The images are brilliant though and seem fitting to go into a children’s picture book about animals.
October 8, 2025
Counting to ten in this board book with Wildsmith’s beautiful animals in full page illustrations. Since Wildsmith was English we have six hedgehogs and the book ends with ten foxes. First read in February 2022.
Reread on October 8, 2025 in board book format which is small in size, but perfect for tiny hands. Info says art from various years was compiled into this board bold in 1996. Always love Wildsmith illustrations.
Reread on October 8, 2025 in board book format which is small in size, but perfect for tiny hands. Info says art from various years was compiled into this board bold in 1996. Always love Wildsmith illustrations.
January 15, 2012
Excellent detailed and realistic illustrations
December 21, 2013
My Spanish is better than my partner's and I wanted a book that was easy to read, taught a bit about numbers, and had cute animals ... score!
March 19, 2014
I love the art and counting books are always great with little kids.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews