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Let's Count Goats! by Mem Fox
Counting Goats is a fresh, funny counting book from picture book superstars Mem Fox and Jan Thomas.
Hardcover
First published October 5, 2010
2 people are currently reading
223 people want to read
About the author
Mem Fox
126 books426 followersMerrion Frances Fox is an Australian writer of children's books and an educationalist specialising in literacy. Fox has been semi-retired since 1996, but she still gives seminars and lives in Adelaide, South Australia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
February 28, 2011
And here we have the exact same thing that happens all over childrens (and adults literature). I have a hard time believing that all of ratings and reviews I've seen on-line for this book are honest. I'm more inclined to think they're going off of the one name "Mem Fox".
(And nooooo, I'm not calling you a liar so unless you're feeling like you weren't all that honest in your review - don't touch it.)
This is nothing if not mediocre. I mean, seriously. What is special here? Is there any one thing that can be pulled out and called special?
It's cute, it's funny, okay illustrations, the text doesn't suck. Does that really make it special? Why, what is Yolen would have gotten together with Fox and produced this? The readers would have orgasms all over the place.
The name of the author does nothing for me. And the name of the author does nothing for my daughter either. We like to go on the story more often than not. And the story is here okay, maybe even good, but exceptional it is not.
(And nooooo, I'm not calling you a liar so unless you're feeling like you weren't all that honest in your review - don't touch it.)
This is nothing if not mediocre. I mean, seriously. What is special here? Is there any one thing that can be pulled out and called special?
It's cute, it's funny, okay illustrations, the text doesn't suck. Does that really make it special? Why, what is Yolen would have gotten together with Fox and produced this? The readers would have orgasms all over the place.
The name of the author does nothing for me. And the name of the author does nothing for my daughter either. We like to go on the story more often than not. And the story is here okay, maybe even good, but exceptional it is not.
October 7, 2013
This should be awesome. Mem Fox and Jan Thomas in one book?!? The awesomeness should be brighter than the sun! Somehow, it's not. Not really sure why either... I think I'll have to ruminate on the mystery.
Sometime later:
Okay, I figured out why this doesn't work. Jan Thomas's wonderful humor comes from the interaction between the outlandish character AND the subdued or worried or fearful one. This book ONLY has the crazy goats bouncing off walls. It lacks that interaction of something trying to tame the goats or watching the goats' silliness and verifying to the reader that their behavior is out of control. Her books are so great because the reader gets to identify with the normal character while laughing at the wild character. You can't leave out one member or the formula falls flat like it did here.
Sometime later:
Okay, I figured out why this doesn't work. Jan Thomas's wonderful humor comes from the interaction between the outlandish character AND the subdued or worried or fearful one. This book ONLY has the crazy goats bouncing off walls. It lacks that interaction of something trying to tame the goats or watching the goats' silliness and verifying to the reader that their behavior is out of control. Her books are so great because the reader gets to identify with the normal character while laughing at the wild character. You can't leave out one member or the formula falls flat like it did here.
June 11, 2019
Interesting mixed reviews. The book *is* funny, and does reinforce counting skills, and has enriching vocabulary. It may not be for some readers, and in fact doesn't make me go 'omg,' but it's a hoot a bit like Go, Dog. Go! which is an acknowledged classic. And check out the additional details in the pix... for example, figure out what probably started the fire...
Thank you West Duluth Branch Library.
Thank you West Duluth Branch Library.
April 20, 2021
Good short rhymes and counting.
February 16, 2011
Mem Fox is back with one of her best texts yet. Let’s Count Goats! Yes why not – can’t think of anything more I’d like to do. This humourous story appeals to young children’s sense of the absurd:
Here we see a mountain goat frisking in the sun.
And here we see a city goat going for a run.
The illustrations do what all good illustrations do in a picture book worth its salt – they add extra information and/or a subplot to the story. Jan Thomas has done just that with her very stylised goats and saturated use of colour (no white backgrounds for Thomas!). She makes lots of visual references to goats eating everything within sight, including the airport goat who is supposedly looking for her cases, but who we find merrily sitting on the luggage carousel chomping away on the suitcases. She also makes the reader work for the gag about the fireman goat climbing through the smoke - created, we realise by the candles on the birthday cake burning away in the bottom right hand corner of the page.
Fox also includes lots of subtle puns and word plays:
Here we see an over goat.
And this one’s going under.
Fox is a master of pace, rhyme and rhythm. She knows how to manipulate the reader to speed up and slow down their reading in the way she mixes up rhyming couplets, with stand alone phrases and rhyming triplets. She has also included so many interesting words to build the young reader’s vocab and make them want to read the story again:
‘Frisking’, ‘Lost and loudly bleating’, rowdy, ‘terrified of thunder’,’huddled’
This is what the best of trade texts, as opposed to educational texts (often referred to readers that come home for children to practice their reading), can do. I just loved it and it’s the sort of story I would be happy to read over and over again which is always a good test. Highly recommended. 1+ and up.
Here we see a mountain goat frisking in the sun.
And here we see a city goat going for a run.
The illustrations do what all good illustrations do in a picture book worth its salt – they add extra information and/or a subplot to the story. Jan Thomas has done just that with her very stylised goats and saturated use of colour (no white backgrounds for Thomas!). She makes lots of visual references to goats eating everything within sight, including the airport goat who is supposedly looking for her cases, but who we find merrily sitting on the luggage carousel chomping away on the suitcases. She also makes the reader work for the gag about the fireman goat climbing through the smoke - created, we realise by the candles on the birthday cake burning away in the bottom right hand corner of the page.
Fox also includes lots of subtle puns and word plays:
Here we see an over goat.
And this one’s going under.
Fox is a master of pace, rhyme and rhythm. She knows how to manipulate the reader to speed up and slow down their reading in the way she mixes up rhyming couplets, with stand alone phrases and rhyming triplets. She has also included so many interesting words to build the young reader’s vocab and make them want to read the story again:
‘Frisking’, ‘Lost and loudly bleating’, rowdy, ‘terrified of thunder’,’huddled’
This is what the best of trade texts, as opposed to educational texts (often referred to readers that come home for children to practice their reading), can do. I just loved it and it’s the sort of story I would be happy to read over and over again which is always a good test. Highly recommended. 1+ and up.
September 5, 2018
L checked this out of the library by accident, thinking that the goats were puppies (she always wants puppy and kitty books). The good news is, she ended up really liking it anyway. She's making big strides in her counting right now and this was the perfect book to use to practice counting to 10. The goats are doing humorous things, and L also liked the lead-up to each counting page. Our favorite part was pointing out all of the things goats were eating that weren't food items: tables, suitcases, etc.
February 18, 2016
Today's favorite. The kids loved counting and shouting out the different numbers of goats. I think some of them just liked giving me the wrong numbers so I'd recount it aloud with them. But it was silly and well-written, with the familiar bright and simple illustrations. The kids were almost ignoring the rest of the writing in the book and immediately started counting once I flipped the page.
January 7, 2020
I am not sure why this book would get poor reviews.
I found it delightful, but then, I live with a 2 1/2 year old. It's a counting book for sure, but much more is going on. It's loaded with the language of prepositions and adjectives. (I wish I had this when I was working with English language learners.)
Jan Thomas' art makes the whole book a hilarious romp.
I found it delightful, but then, I live with a 2 1/2 year old. It's a counting book for sure, but much more is going on. It's loaded with the language of prepositions and adjectives. (I wish I had this when I was working with English language learners.)
Jan Thomas' art makes the whole book a hilarious romp.
June 11, 2012
I was expecting a little more in this title, but it is ok. A counting book without numbers that makes the reader/listener count to make sure the text and the illustrations match, a good technique to involve the reader. Also plenty of goat silliness is in this title.
December 11, 2017
Weird book but I always love the illustrations of Jan Thomas!
April 6, 2018
Rhyming silly goats, counting up to 10. There's not really a plot, just goats acting silly, but the bright fun pictures keep it fairly entertaining.
A solid preschool storytime read. There's not really much plot (which is why it's only 3 stars), but it makes for a good interactive read with the kids. I used it in a storytime on rhymes, but it would also work for goats, numbers, or any of the activities the goats get up to.
A solid preschool storytime read. There's not really much plot (which is why it's only 3 stars), but it makes for a good interactive read with the kids. I used it in a storytime on rhymes, but it would also work for goats, numbers, or any of the activities the goats get up to.
March 30, 2019
????? Seriously. ????????
Questions. Why does this book exist? What is the point of this book? Who thought this book had anything in it to make it special? All it left me with was a bunch of questions.
The pictures are okay, but the text makes no sense. it isn't even funny! The only part I appreciated at all was the very last page. Three words. That's all I liked.
Sad...
This book should have been so much more...
Questions. Why does this book exist? What is the point of this book? Who thought this book had anything in it to make it special? All it left me with was a bunch of questions.
The pictures are okay, but the text makes no sense. it isn't even funny! The only part I appreciated at all was the very last page. Three words. That's all I liked.
Sad...
This book should have been so much more...
September 7, 2020
Grade Level K-1
This is a very stock picture book. It's great for infants to learn how to count with very playful goats being the center object. We follow down on so quirky events that also introduce adjectives and observation. Each goat have their own spunky personality through the illustration and the colors are bold and sold, but very simple. There's no texture with colors or deep dynamic. The illustration is fun and cartoon-y so it will grab the attention of toddlers.
This is a very stock picture book. It's great for infants to learn how to count with very playful goats being the center object. We follow down on so quirky events that also introduce adjectives and observation. Each goat have their own spunky personality through the illustration and the colors are bold and sold, but very simple. There's no texture with colors or deep dynamic. The illustration is fun and cartoon-y so it will grab the attention of toddlers.
February 5, 2020
This book is fun, transitions a whole lot from just counting goats involving many different kinds of jobs. The art is not the greatest, but is quite simple. The counting involved though does not show you the number of how many goats you should see which is good. I'd recommend this book for kindergarten to first grade.
April 17, 2019
This book is for younger students probably kindergarten or 1st grade. This book takes students through multiple scenes to count the goats doing different activities. I would use this book in the classroom as a read aloud to help students practice counting.
July 4, 2019
Lot's of mixed reviews on this one, but my 2 year old is obsessed. She loves counting and she loves the silly goats. I appreciate the slow increase in how many goats there are and the fun pictures. I'm not saying it's a classic, but my toddler loves it so 🤷🏻♀️
February 2, 2021
The reader is invited to count the goats.
The rhythm and structure is very similar to Where Is the Green Sheep?
The rhythm and structure is very similar to Where Is the Green Sheep?
December 19, 2023
This was cute, I had it as an option for a toddler storytime, though I did not end up using it as it felt a little long and advanced for the toddlers I had been having. Don't fully remember the book as I forgot to log it when I first read it.
August 26, 2017
Counting goats - fun and funny. Young PB.
January 19, 2018
One of the more fun children's "counting" books!
April 20, 2018
great, colorful, silly book that helps the wee ones learn to count almost without realizing it. as fun for the parents as for the kids
May 19, 2018
silly and fun counting book. we always love our Mem Fox stories.
July 9, 2018
I had no idea I could be unenthusiastic about something goat-related.
November 10, 2018
Fun for all storytime levels. Babies to almost ready for kindergarteners!
April 29, 2019
Did not read to kids.
June 8, 2019
A whole lot of silliness in this book! It’s a different type of counting book because the numbers vary for each page spread. This would make a really fun counting Storytime book!
July 25, 2019
This is a really funny counting book, but most of the enumeration is left to the reader--or child to whom it's read.
January 19, 2021
A counting books with no numerals and no use of the number words. But, GREAT opportunities to count things.
January 21, 2021
This is a counting book, but there's only one number word used (one), and no numerals. But there are a lot of scaffolded opportunities to account, amidst a great deal of goat silliness.
January 23, 2021
All of the different types of goats - eating goats, bleating goats, etc. - just happen to rhyme. A cute book with bold, colorful illustrations that would be perfect to include in a unit on rhyming.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews