Construction Countdown

by K.C. Olson, David Gordon (Illustrator)

Ten mighty dump trucks rolling down the road.
Nine earthmovers scraping up
a load . . .

Count down from ten to one with the busy
construction trucks!

Something wonderful is going on, and every kind of truck has an important job. But what are all those bulldozers and backhoes doing? This bright and lively counting book will delight young construction fans everywhere. 
Construction Countdown is a 2005 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Genres: Picture Books, Construction, Childrens, Counting, Number, Trucks, Mathematics

24 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Colorado Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Counts down backwards from 10 to 0 with different construction vehicles doing different things I can’t remember if it rhymes but it would be a good addition to a construction or things that go story time which would also incorporate counting backwards

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 2 out of 5]

As counting picture books go, there are definitely better ones. I'm not crazy about this book, but it could work for storytime if needed.

[Clarissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Counting and construction vehicles with a twist at the end.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute surprise at the end.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very simple counting book for toddler construction lovers. Backhoes, payloaders, earth movers and more!

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great counting picture book.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the colors and the size of the vehicles, my 3 yr old enjoyed counting them on each page. Definitely didn't see number 1 coming, loved it.

[Jaime T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brody fav

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have a child that likes construction vehicles then this book is for them! This is also a numbers count down backward book. From 10 to 1. Illustrations are wonderful in this book as well as the text. My adult special needs son LOVED this book. We spent time counting, talking about the names of the vehicles, the various colors of the vehicles and at the end of the book shows both boys and girls playing so I would ask him to tell me "Is this a boy or girl" This book has lots of learning opportunities within it; in addition to it just being a fun book to just look through.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the ending. Sweet, simple counting book.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Construction Countdown by K.C. Olson, illustrated by David Gordon is a countdown of construction vehicles from ten to one.

Olson's text features a bold font, making this book easy to read-aloud or use for a storytime. Construction vehicles shown include dump trucks, earthmovers, bulldozers, payloaders, graders, rollers, Concrete (mixers) trucks, backhoes, and skid loaders. Descriptive words used include mighty, rolling, scraping, reshaping, grumbling, leveling, packing, scooping, haul and gigantic.

Gordon's colorful illustrations feature shading. While the colors are never mentioned, they can be named by young viewers. I enjoyed this, especially the reveal of where the vehicles were working. It's a solid concept book that will be a hit with young construction fans.

For ages 2 to 5, numbers, counting, colors, things-that-go, construction, read-aloud, storytime, and fans of K.C. Olson and David Gordon.

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3* art
3* concept

Number books irritate me. (Where's the story?) Squirt liked this one a lot, though. At one point during the day he said to me, "Four cement mixers, round and round." I knew he was referring to this book, and was surprised to see that he was thinking about it beyond the time it was being read to him.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for pre-readers. The rhythmic text is catchy, and the pictures are colorful, and build to a surprise ending. Even better, the final spread contains all the machines from the whole book, so little ones can search and match machines and colors, which builds the attention to detail needed for reading. Great for truck and construction lovers!!

[Sarah S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starting with ten mighty dump trucks, the book counts backwards using brightly-colored construction vehicles to illustrate the numbers. Obviously, this will be a hit with machine-crazy little folks. It's a good, solid counting book with a little twist at the end. Age 2-5.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our not-quite-2-year-old and his dad loved this book (I liked it too!). It's great for counting and learning colors (we would say, can you find a red truck? etc). And of course it's full of trucks! That's an instant attraction for our little one.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic new counting book! Ten types of trucks are introduced counting and simply explaining what they do. The rhyming in this book is simple and creates a perfect rhythm for reading.

Highly recommended for storytime.

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolute hit with my son that is adding additional heavy machinery to his knowledge and vocabulary.

[Skylar Burris · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a surprise. This trip to the library my son chose a book about trucks. Again. At least this one has some rhytmic rhyme to it.

[Dia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the illustrations in this book and that the story ends in a sandbox. My girls 3 and 2 like looking at the pictures, listening to the rhyme and counting the different color machinery.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are fantastic. A fun rhyming countdown book.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice counting book

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another counting book. My four-year-old boy's favorite so far. How could it not be? It was a countdown of construction vehicles in a sandbox.

[Jessica RiffeKincaid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Together me and my 6 year old son enjoyed reading this book. He was able to learn the basic concepts of math and reading. It was very fun and easy to read.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good counting book with rhyming verse for machine-happy little people. Nice colorful illustrations.

[Emerson and Theodore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course he loves this construction truck counting book. What's not to love 10 different types of construction earthmovers moving through a construction site. The end has a cute twist.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Realistic painted illustrations might be interesting to kiddos but otherwise there are better books in this genre.

[Peanut · Rating 5 out of 5]

MOMMY: I give the book 4 stars. Cute illustrations, nice rhyming cadence.

PEANUT: he loved this book and had it memorized in about a week. Age 2 1/2

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun, basic countdown book with some spectacularly drawn construction vehicles. The rhyming scheme falters in places, but it doesn't really affect the book overall.

[Heather M L · Rating 4 out of 5]

4- As counting books go it has a cute ending.

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

An all right book of counting using construction equipment.

Average illustrations.