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Bugs

How Many Bugs in a Box?

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This sturdy, colorful pop-up book teaches children how to count--and have fun! Full-color illustrations.

18 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

2 people are currently reading
74 people want to read

About the author

David A. Carter

253 books40 followers
David A. Carter is a master paper engineer and creator of the Bugs series, which has sold more than 6 million copies. Also the author and illustrator of the critically acclaimed Color series, featuring One Red Dot, Blue 2, 600 Black Spots, Yellow Square, and White Noise, he lives in Auburn, California, with his wife and two daughters.

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5 stars
119 (50%)
4 stars
69 (29%)
3 stars
38 (16%)
2 stars
8 (3%)
1 star
2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
Profile Image for Heidi-Marie.
3,855 reviews88 followers
June 26, 2017
Pulled this from our storytime closet for Movement storytime. Went through it beforehand and then in class. Had the kids hold up their fingers for the number of bugs, which the older ones were starting to predict the next numbers. And they all loved the flaps and different kind of bugs.
58 reviews1 follower
May 10, 2018
Copyright: 1987
Number of Pages: unnumbered
Book Format: hardcover
Reading Level: ages 3-6
Genre: fiction
Lit Requirement: Counting book

Summary:
This is a pop-up children's book that has different shaped, sized, and colored boxed and each box has a different amount of bugs inside. When you lift up the pop-up, it shows the bugs and says how many there are.

Review:
This book does not have very many words at all and the pictures are very simple. The only thing that may keep young children's attention is the pop-up on the page. I understand that the book is intended for very young readers. But the book seems uninteresting to me and i believe that other counting books may be more effective.
Profile Image for Heulwen Sweet.
57 reviews5 followers
August 8, 2020
Kids will lean in as they wait for the pop up effect. Translating it into another language and active listening is tough on their brains but the pop up makes it all worth it.
Thanks David A Carter.
2,036 reviews8 followers
October 8, 2024
I love author David A. Carter's pop-up Bug series, this one included. The pop-ups are simple but engaging and the illustrations are whimsical fun. Not a lot of plot here, but besides counting, kiddos are exposed to shape and color examples as well.
Profile Image for Marianne.
1,512 reviews51 followers
July 20, 2017
I actually read this in Spanish but I'm too lazy to make a new edition. Tsk. Regardless, it's really cute.
30 reviews
Read
February 24, 2017
Carter, David. How Many Bugs in a Box (1987 ) In this pull up, pop-up, open the flap counting book children guess how many bugs are in the box. Of course the first box holds one bug and the last box holds ten bugs but along the way children are taught other concepts such as what is the difference between a tall box or a small box, or a thin box and a square box. The bugs are imaginative and entertaining, such as the space bugs that look like rockets jettisoned into space or the fishy bugs that swim with swimmers fins. Good for tactile learning students as the nature of pop up books engages the students not only by listening to the story but engaging in the book by opening and closing flaps and pulling out pop ups. Target Audience: ages 2-5
24 reviews
March 15, 2015
David A Carter wrote a great book using boxes full of bug to help children learn to count. The book counts one through ten giving each page a new excitement from the surprises in order to figuring out how many bugs are on each page. As you flip through the pages on the left side there is a the same wording of the question “how many bugs are in the box?” The twists to each of these pages are the describing words along with the question. Some of these describing words are used to describe the color, height, design, shape, and weight. On the other side of the pages are the boxes that were described on the left of the page. The author used both sides of the page to draw attention to each individual number.

The illustrations in this book are key to making it fun for children to read. Each page is full of bright colors that are also used to make designs around the boxes. They will be learning without realizing they are becoming aware of the patterns of the numbers and the order they go in. When the book turns to each page the children cannot see the bug right away, forcing them to read the page before they have the luxury of opening up the box, or whichever interesting fact that will pop out at them when they go to see how many bugs are in the box.

This book will have kids counting over and over again. This interactive book has very interesting features allowing the kids to open up flaps on each page along with pulling strings and counting the pop up of bugs. I strongly suggest using this book for readers that are also struggling with counting. Children will enjoy this exciting, colorful book full of surprises.
Profile Image for Betsy.
40 reviews4 followers
August 13, 2013
Best Pop-Up Books Ever!

I've purchased almost every title in this series and have yet to be disappointed by any of them. My 8-year old son requests to read them again and again and again, and now that he's reading on his own - likes to read them to himself.

Now that he's older, he is also very careful not to tear the pop-ups, but I've got to admit that there are a few titles we've bought more than once. He probably got his first pop-up book at the age of two - and although the pop-ups are quite sturdy and made for little hands to enjoy - he did manage to tear a few of them. I think this is inevitable if you want to introduce your child to pop-up books at an early age, and since the pop-up books in this series are reasonably priced - I've been more than happy to replace the ones he was a little "too hands-on" with!

What do we like about the pop-ups? Each one is a work of art - you are never disappointed when you turn the page. The pop-ups are cute, colorful, creative, and most of all - FUN. The accompanying text on each page is also good - funny rhymes, silly sayings, and sometimes even a sing-a-long song.

Of all the pop-up books we own (and we probably have fifty or more - some dating back to the thirties and forties) these are the ones we enjoy the most. We've also bought several to give as gifts to my son's friends.

Our other favorites are those by Robert Sabuda & Matthew Reinhart and there are also some excellent Harry Potter & Star Wars pop-up books if you're a fan of either of those series.
4 reviews
April 1, 2020
This book is a dang children’s classic. I had one when I was a kid and got one for my toddler because mine was well loved. Aka torn to bits.
Profile Image for Michelle.
139 reviews46 followers
October 26, 2007
This is one of the cutest books I've ever read. A friend gave it to me one year for my birthday. I used to read it to my stepson over and over. Then I lost it in the divorce, which was ok if he still enjoys reading them.
52 reviews
December 2, 2013
This story is about how many bugs are in different hiding places. it is a pop up book, and children learn better by doing. I would have the class do a hands on activity using the book. The counting of how many books will be more interesting and the counting will become easier.
Profile Image for Nikki Nielsen.
165 reviews18 followers
March 5, 2008
This book is dang cute, and even better read aloud by the author himself. David Carter was at our Barnes and Noble for story time this morning and I took my kids to listen.
8 reviews2 followers
April 15, 2010
This is how I learned how to count, and how to read. :)
Profile Image for George.
119 reviews
July 7, 2013
While I am a fan of interactive books, Carter's pop-up was just okay. I would rather the insects would have been true to life, rather than the imaginative ones he created.
Profile Image for Rowan (:.
21 reviews
Read
November 10, 2017
Title: How Many Bugs in a Box? A Pop-up Counting Book
Author and Illustrator: David A. Carter
Genre: Pop-up, Counting Book, Fiction, and Animal
Theme(s): insects and boxes
Opening line/sentence: “How many bugs are in the red box?” (on pull tab) “1 One tough bug”
Book Summary:
This pop-up book is very interactive and brightly decorated. Throughout the book it is a combination of informative, counting aspect of the book, and decorative, pop-up assets. The boxes, which the counting bugs dwell within, have a matching decorative style to their inhabitants. The book by David A. Carter is humorous and creative, which will keep student preoccupied for ages playing with the pull tabs.
Professional Recommendation/Review:
Publishers Weekly (Publishers Weekly)
Raising the flaps on each spread of this lift-up counting book reveals fanciful insects in increasing numbers, from "one tough bug'' with barbells, to``seven space bugs'' surrounded by stars and planets, to `ten saw bugs,'' whose snouts indeed consist of saws. Startlingly bright illustrations and elaborate paper engineering should attract young children's attention. However, the cleverness to the made-up insects varies widely; groups such as``three pretty bugs'' and `nine very long-necked bugs'' seem rather tame in contrast to the rest. Ages 3-6. (February)
(PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster (New York:), PUBLISHED: c1988.)
Marilyn Courtot (Children's Literature)
David Carter is a paper engineer who creates very clever books. This board book version of his original large format pop-up is a real delight. Kids learning to count will enjoy pulling the tabs to see the strange and colorful array of bugs that appear. Carter s imagination has run wild as he presents four fast fleas in a small box and five mellow-yellow fish bugs in a big blue box. Not only are numbers presented with a chance to count all the little critters, other concepts, such as size and color, are also part of the text. It is fun, funny, and educational, and it will hold up to many tugs by little hands. 2006 (orig. 1988), Little Simon/Simon & Schuster, $10.95. Ages 3 to 5.
(PUBLISHER: Little Simon (New York:), PUBLISHED: 2006 c1988.)
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
The professional recommendations drew me towards this book, especially the review by Marilyn Courtot. She gave a detailed description about the book and made me interested in wanting to read the book to my class. While the author at publishing weekly also used descriptive details, it lacked some key descriptive words that Ms. Courtot used such as “mellow-yellow fish bugs”. Overall, I believe they are a positive feedback of the book and illustrations.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews

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