Feast for 10: A Classic Counting Book About Family and Food for Children

by Cathryn Falwell

Enjoy this classic counting book and lively read-aloud featuring a family shopping for food, preparing dinner, and enjoying a meal together. Count from one to ten—then count again! What does it take to make a feast for ten hungry people? Shopping, cooking, setting the table—everyone in this loving family pitches in to create a colorful and joyful feast. Lively read-aloud text paired with bright collage illustrations.

Genres: Picture Books, Counting, Family, Food, Mathematics, Thanksgiving, Storytime

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so adorable and fun! It's not only a clever counting book, it's a warm and vibrant portrait of a loving family (father, mother and several children) preparing a special meal (to which the grandparents are invited) from shopping together at the grocery store, to cooking together, to gathering around and eating together. Loved it!

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect as a Thanksgiving story but, since it doesn't specifically reference the holiday, it can be used year-round

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book reminded me of Thanksgiving, though it isn't technically about the holiday. It is a counting book for preschoolers, my granddaughter sang the words of the book to the tune of "12 Days of Christmas".

[Ursula · Rating 5 out of 5]

 
Wonderful little story. A family shops for, prepares, and gathers to eat a meal. Splendidly happy, and wonderful illustrations. ENJOY! :D
 

[Cori · Rating 5 out of 5]

count to 10 twice and the dinner is done. from shopping to cooking to eating. great mix of colors and objects to count. teamwork and family

[Mama Bibliosoph · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic! An African American family shops at the grocery store, cooks dinner, and eats together. Feast for 10 is a moderately advanced counting concept book. Each page has a scene from the story featuring something that is being counted. The numeral is shown and the sight word for that numeral begins the text for the page. The colorful, and often patterned illustrations, are offset against a plain white background that perfectly focuses a child's attention on the people, what they are doing, and the things to count.

The text on each page is a tightly constructed, brilliant poem with a subtle, easy rhythm and rhyme scheme: one cart into the grocery store // two pumpkins for pie // three chickens to fry // four children off to look for more.

This kind of writing is perfect for kids with autism, the beat and sound of the words anchor children in the text and help them attend to the story. The story also counts up to ten twice; one set takes place at the grocery store; the other set takes place at home, splitting the book into two distinct acts.

I love that this has a real narrative and interesting, true-to-life characters. First, there's the hero mom who goes shopping with 5 children! Then, there are the kids who help by finding the things in the grocery store that the family needs and with loading and unloading the car. At home, dad helps with the baby and cleans up the recycling. All the kids help mom prep and cook and set the table—and of course everyone eats! I would have liked to have seen dad cooking too, but it's a pretty great representation of the whole family pitching in. Families in the suburbs (who drive and go to big grocery stores) might be able to use this as a social story.

Lastly, there are wonderful tacting (labeling) opportunities for commonly consumed foods (greens, beans, chicken, vegetables, etc.) and actions related to shopping/cooking (shopping, buying, washing, peeling, mixing, baking, etc.).

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I review books for children from the perspective of a parent of kids with autism. The review above is part of a longer post of 15 great counting books: http://www.lineupthebooks.com/countin...

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites to use with younger children for food/Thanksgiving time programs. Very simple counting story about a family going shopping and cooking together and creating a feast. 11/21/12

Used in Lap Time this year. 11/29/13

Used for a PreK class doing grocery shopping.

Used for 2's and 3's school outreach.

Used in Lap Time for food theme program. 10/14/14

Used as a short book to end family story time for PreK 4's. Several children came up to point out Grandma, Grandpa, Mother, baby, sisters, brothers, though there was some discussion on who was the father.

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This counting book follows an African-American family going to the grocery story and then home to make dinner together. Simple rhymes are easy to read aloud: "Two pumpkins for pie / Three chickens to fry." The illustrations celebrate the children's role throughout and are full of warm family love. A delightful, modern story that still feels fresh today.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This counting book goes from one to 10 and depicits a family grocery shopping (1 cart, 2 pumpkins for pie, etc.) when it gets to 10 it starts over again and counts up but for the making the meal process. I almost wanted it to count backwards. Fun counting book and illustrations anyway.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this counting book that also weaves a good story of shopping and preparing a dinner and sharing, but it remains a simple text.

[Belise Michel · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a great book to introduce healthy habits to young readers. You can talk about shopping list, help count items, cooking, going to the store, and family time.

[Kris Dersch · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sweet and wonderful. I love how real the characters of the kids are for a book with such sparse text.

[Rachel B · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's nice to see larger families in books. This is a simple rhyming, counting book that follows a family with 5 children as they shop for and cook dinner.

[Sarah Ziskend · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for:
-teaching counting 1-10
-rhyming words/ end sounds
-Good read around book

As a teacher of mathematics, I could easily integrate this book into a variety of lesson plans,more specifically lesson plans revolving around number order and counting. I could do this book as a read aloud whole group, and then break my students off into centers where they must create their own unique math counting book.

[Princess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not only are we discussing family, but Thanksgiving is approaching so I decided to read A Feast for Ten to my children yesterday. I was a able to make a self to text connection because my family also eat the foods that were mentioned in the story. The children also named foods that they eat, some mentioned in the story, some not. So, the children were also able to make a text to self connection. While reading the story we counted the items to ensure they matched the number shown on the page.

[Veronika · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover of this book caught my eye while I was shelving and I sat and read it about 3 times. A cute little counting book that features a Black family sharing a wholesome meal and a great way to learn/teach counting. Even though there was another review stating that the meal was stereotypical (I don't think it was necessarily), I enjoyed every bit of this and the beautiful artwork. Perfect to read any time of year and can be used to celebrate any holiday that includes a big feast.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could they cook anything more stereotypical? The only thing that was missing was watermelon. Disappointed.

[Takee Jobe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feast for 10 by Cathryn Falwell is a children’s picture book. This is an ideal read for children ages 2-5. Feast for 10 is a rhyming counting book that illustrates an African –American family going grocery shopping, preparing dinner, setting the table, and sitting down to eat as a family. The picture book begins with a mother and her four children heading into the grocery store, “1 cart into the grocery store” and ends with “10 hands to help load the car.” Then… the number rhyme begins again when the family arrives home to meet dad, grandma, and grandad with “1 car home from the grocery store” and concludes with “10 hungry folks to share the meal.” I really like the all-white background and pallets of brown facial features and muted blues, greens, and oranges. However, I do believe the facial features could have been given more detail and depth. This can be an appealing book for children just learning to count. This is also a great book for children for African-American children who may have a similar family structure and can identify with the characters in the book.

[Shanna Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feast For 10 is a warm, rhythmic story about a family taking a trip to the grocery store and preparing a meal to enjoy together. Each page introduces a number with an action: "One cart into the grocery store/ Two pumpkins for pie/ Three chickens to fry..." and so on, counting up to ten twice.

The book has much to commend it: on a cultural level, the story features a large family, which is cheerfully cooperative and hardworking without being annoyingly sweet. The children play an important role in the food preparation, and the ritual of sharing a meal together helps underscore their familial unity.

On an aesthetic level, this well-written book is illustrated with high-quality collage art, and it easily incorporates the counting exercise without detracting from the story. Because of its rhythm and rhyme, it will be well received by a preschool and early elementary audience.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book 5 stars because I personally enjoy it and it seems to score in the "best" category for all of the quality elements of a story as indicated by Mary Hynes-Berry. The characters and illustrations are interesting and compelling. The text allows for in-depth and adaptable conversations that can relate directly to each child's personal human experience. The language seems to invite students to discuss how their experience with food and family might be similar or different to the experiences in the story.
In my reading with children, they were very excited to share how their own food and family experiences take shape.

[Randee Bontrager · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feast for 10 by Cathryn Falwell is a counting book involving African Americans. This book interested me because they involve the actual number and in words. This will help the students learn how to count easily and understand that there are several ways to show numbers. The family is getting food for their feast they are going to prepare.

The intended audience for this book would be for a Kindergarten or first grade classroom. To use this book in an elementary classroom would be when they are talking about numbers. Since this book involved another diversity, you can explain how they prepare a feast different than we do.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remembering to review old story time books!

I've used this one several times, and it's great for toddler and young preschool groups. It's got a strong rhythm too it, which tends to draw in young children, and it's a nice combination of everyday life activities (shopping/cooking/eating), and counting, as well as being a great example of everyday diversity.

It tends to get used a lot at thanksgiving, but it could work for any time of food, family, or counting program, since no holiday is specifically mentioned. Might also pair well with Fiesta Babies by Carmen Tafolla.

[Rakisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really wonderful concept book featuring an African-American family that prepares a meal starting with a trip to the grocery store. The book will introduce children to food, numbers, and a traditional family of brown faces. Perfect for read alouds, flannel board stories, and a story & craft. Some health conscious parents might object to the mother frying the chicken, but aside from that, there is nothing objectionable abou this book.

[Nadine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be a great asset to my classroom. It teaches counting from 1 through 10 with an African American family. I like that this book because of it's culturally responsive attributes. I appreciate that it portrays this family in a positive light. It's very relatable. It teaches 1 through 10, two times. First there's the grocery list in the supermarket, then there's the food preparation at home using the numbers. This a great way to introduce students to math concepts through counting.

[Molly Robbins · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a good book to use for sequencing for 3rd-5th grade. It has quite a few events and things that they buy at the grocery store so it would work better for older grades to read this book. It is difficult to remember most or all of the things they buy throughout the story in order. This was not my favorite book, it was a little boring and I did not feel like it was specific enough to use for a lesson on a subject other that just practice with the student reading the book.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great read-aloud for preschool storytime! As a family shops for ingredients for dinner, they count from one to ten - and as they cook, they count again. Children will love counting the number of items on each page, and the illustrations feature bold colors that will keep their attention. This is one that could fit into a lot of storytime themes - cooking, family, and counting are just a few that would apply.

[Yiovana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this story because not only do children relate to when they go grocery shopping with their family but they can also learn their counting. In this case they count from 1-10, a book most likely designed for children ages 3 and 4. Children can immediately age in the story, by predicting what number is next or counting the items on the pages according to the number shown. Using one to one correspondence. Definitely a good book to learn math concepts!

[Robby Burke]

This is a family-centered book. Through the illustration of having fresh-baked pies, a baby asleep on its mother's shoulder, carrots being washed and peeled; it brings a sense of unity and family values. Even though individual pictures seem a bit bland, the overall impression here is heart-warming. The book is for ages 4-8.

[Elizabeth McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute counting board book! My three-month-old stares at the pictures, and my friend's two-year-old loves reading the story and talking about all the details in the illustrations. The story is a sweet rhyme about a family preparing and sharing a meal, while counting to ten not once but twice. I also like that the book features a black family - not enough picture books show people of color.

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 14-month old thinks this is the best book of all time, and wants us to read it on repeat until we can't stand it anymore (seriously, at least 10x/day for the 4 days). What I like: Depicts a large family preparing to cook a meal. Counts from 1 to 10 twice.