Ten on a Twig

by Lo Cole

Count down from ten like never before with this uniquely interactive and beautiful picture book! Perfect for young readers who are learning how to count.

Ten on a twig, just passing time... One falls off, and then there are nine.

Watch the birds fall as the pages turn! In this charming, deceptively simple counting book, ten birds sit on a twig. As each falls off, they take a piece of the twig with them, and in the end, they have a new home―just in time to say goodnight. This delightful, fun read is great for bedtime or playtime, and the clever die-cuts will charm young readers.

Children learning how to count will be mesmerized by the actions that happen with the page turns. It encourages repetition and rereads, and is sure to help many kids remember their numbers as they laugh along the way.

Genres: Picture Books, Birds, Counting, Storytime, Mathematics, Fiction, Animals

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

An internationally acclaimed illustrator and printmaker, Lo Cole’s commercial illustration work spans editorial, publishing, advertising, corporate design and album cover artwork.

Lo has worked for The Guardian since 2002 – readers of the Weekend magazine will be familiar with his witty, bold and graphic imagery for ‘What I’m Really Thinking’, a column written anonymously by members of the public, for which Lo has created over 300 illustrations, to date. Lo is also a weekly contributor to The Economist Magazine, illustrating the Latin American column, ‘Bello’.

In addition to his career as an illustrator, Lo has a following as a printmaker; making limited edition prints since he left art school. Nowadays, he creates and prints these digitally from his studio in Gloucestershire and ships to customers all over the world.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten birds are all lined up on a twig from biggest to smallest. As they fall off (all in a row from biggest to smallest), rhyming text counts down from 10 to 1. There's no counting back up, but the ten birds do get reunited. This is a fun group read aloud!

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks so much to Source Books for an early reads ebook to review. This is a fun and engaging story book for little ones learning to count down from ten. I love the colorful little bird illustrations, and there's a fun twist at the end that shows what happens when all ten of them eventually snap off the twig they're sitting on. I wasn't expecting there to be much more than the educational counting aspect! It brought a smile to my face, so I imagine tiny readers will feel the same amount of glee.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

With so much going for it, this is a great choice for little ones (and their parents). without a doubt, the progressively sized birds "on a twig" immediately offer humor, math, attention to detail, dual/parallel stories, and rhyming text that will invite chiming in after only a few readings. The progressively cut pages (on heavy, glossy stock) allow little ones to connect the numerical call to ind a row of Russian Matbalances (One falls off, nine are left) with the sense of overall value balances and equations, as alternating page sizes reveal cumulative and comparative "weight" to the groupings.
The bright-eyed, colorful, progressively sized birds call to mind a row of Russian nesting matryoshka dolls.
Top that off with a delightful bedtime/sleepytime ending, and this is far more than a counting book or a simple concept book.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very cute book for the very young toddler audience. This is a variation on the theme of "First there were..." In the olden days was it ten little Indians...I think so.
This story counts down from ten with the cutest little birds and some rhymes. This is a very happy book that ends with Good night so is meant as a "Good night book". I don't know, it makes me happy enough to be awake but I could read it quietly, too. I think it is incredible that the artist makes the birds come so alive with what are little more than stick figure birds.
Very enjoyable story.
Recommend and thank you Sourcebooks Early Reads for the advance e-copy.

[Mama Bearian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be a great book for teaching counting. It is simple, with bold, colorful illustrations on a white background. The pages are cut to be more interesting (it reminds me of The Very Hungry Caterpillar in that sense), and it has a nice, rhythmic rhyme. I also love the ending, which would make it a great bedtime book.

[Annah Neumire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo Cole, both the author and illustrator, did an excellent job on this book! I thought it was super engaging and fun for young children. What I loved most about this book is that it aids as an excellent resource for teachers to introduce counting backward to their students. Teachers often have a hard time introducing a topic in a fun and engaging manner, and what better way to do this with a book?
The fictional story follows ten uniquely colorful birds on a twig. As the pages go on, they fall off individually, allowing children to learn to count backward. I believe a kindergarten class would enjoy this book tremendously. If I happen to teach children this young, I would definitely consider using this book to introduce the math topic.

The illustrations, although small, are very brightly colored which will attract the attention of young readers and keep them engaged. Along with the math concept, this book can represent all your students' differences. It does this by having different colored birds, representing differences, throughout the whole book. Overall, I think this book is a great choice for young students!

[James Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining countdown book from 10 to 1. I'm sure early learners will get a kick out of this book. The illustrations are simple but bright and colorful and stand out well against the white background. There is a bit of tactile use here also, as the pages start very thin, then gradually get wider as the birds fall off the twig. The font is very pleasing and easy to read for young eyeball. The numbers are also in different colors, matching the color of the bird that falls off. Kids may pick up on this and that can help them connect the bird with the number, enhancing the educational value of this book.

[Yaritza · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book to teach children how to count. I enjoyed the colorful birds but would have liked to have seen more of a colorful background instead of a white background. Children love seeing color. I wasn't thrilled with the story in itself as the words were minimal and didn't seem to go well with the story. I think the story could have been more interesting if the birds were having some weather issues or other animals bringing them off the branch. It would make a more interesting story for children to enjoy. Making it more interactive for children can build interest in this book.

[Carolina Combetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be great to teach children about subtraction. It starts off with ten little birds on a twig and they fall down one by one. Through the progression of the book, the pages get shorter and shorter because each of the birds that fall take a piece of the twig with them. It encourages repetition and is sure to help many kids remember their numbers. Very colorful illustrations, yet not overdone where children are not able to focus.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cleverly constructed book builds plenty of book-type action into the mix. (Hint: The cleverness is mostly in things done with paper.)

Nothing here but a counting book. Not a thing over-complicated or distracting. I can see how kids could love the simplicity of this book.

Also the use of color, throughout this book, is sooooooooo pleasing.

FIVE STARS and thanks to you, author and artist Lo Cole.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten birds all fall off a twig! Pretty self-explanatory. The illustrations aren't terribly extraordinary, but the bright colors of the birds against the white is fairly appealing. The novelty/engaging aspect of this book is that the page size starts stubby and grows progressively larger (like in Very Hungry Caterpillar), adding to the illustration as the pages turn.

[Lisa Boyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this counting book. It is a rhyming book, is colorful, and fun for children to read. The pages are unique and fun for children to flip through because each page is a different size and as you turn each page, one of the birds falls of the twig and then you are left with one less bird. Its a counting back from 10 book.

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Count down from ten with birds that break a twig. It is a "lift-the-flap" in the sense that the pages are different sizes in the book. The birds go from 10 to 1 and the pages go from skinny to wide. Simple illustrations with rhyming words.

2020 storytime theme: Bedtime Stories

Reviewed from a library copy.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Counting from 10 down to 1.
Each page shows the number and the rhyming text includes the number word, too.
Very easy to count the birds. And all 10 are always visible, so it's easy to see as 10-1, 9-1, 8-1, 7-1, etc.

I read the hardcover which has thicker than normal pages. Note that the way the story works is that the pages are different widths, so you can see each bird drop off.

[Haines Eason · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book's physical structure screams _Hungry Caterpillar_, but once you get over that (and your excitement at a uniquely constructed book), you'll love the utilitarian counting lesson, simple-yet-endearing artwork and lovely message at the end. Semi spoiler: This is a book about home being what you make of it ;) Nice use of rhyme, rhythm, nice message, etc. -- this one hits all the marks.

[Bethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhyming text doesn’t have to flow perfectly due to the predictable nature of the story. Fun bright shapes for the birds, ending is great for a bedtime story. Fun case cover graphics and endpages. Does anyone else think the birds all lined up in the left hand side look like the Partridge Family graphics?

[Jessie (Saffity) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very sweet counting book. My kids (5 and 2) both enjoyed reading through it and going "SNAP" with each number. The illustrations were adorable. My 5 year old did most of the reading and my 2 year old liked pointing out different things he noticed about the pictures. The fact that the birds used the twigs at the end was quite cute, and it makes for a wonderful bedtime story.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Educational number learning with vibrant colors, my kids loved the unique pages and rhyming words! If you like Five Little Monkeys, you will like Ten on a Twig! Thank you to Sourcebooks Early Reads for the complimentary copy. All opinions are my own (and my kids).

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A counting book where each page turn finds one bird falling off the twig until there are none. The illustrations are bright and colorful but I didn't find anyting particularly engaging or unique about the text.

[Joan Arbogast · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great read-aloue with the repetition of the phrase SNAP! when the twig breaks.
Imperfect rhyme adds fun to the text.
Illustrations and format of the book add to the delight of the counting backwards, from ten to one.
The surpise ending is perfect!

[Binxie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved the illustrations and the concept of the book. I'm not sure how well it will work in a group setting - the illustrations may be too small to be seen. But the colors are engaging, the text good, and overall, a fun read.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute idea to have the cause of the bird's fall be turned into something helpful. 3 yr old liked the repetitive "snap!" I liked that the endpapers show day and night, front and back respectively. Nice contrast to the bird feathers.

[Aolund · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, attractively designed rhyming counting book that would work better for reading at home than in storytime, due to the cut-away pages. A neat reading experience for kids!

Themes: Counting, Birds, Subtraction
Age range: Toddler-Kindergarten

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Birds fall off a branch one by one, teaching counting down from 10 to 1.

The illustrations are bright and stylized against white space, and the book’s format uses cutaway pages during the countdown sequence for visual interest.

[Alyssa Lundy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre : informational
Age group: pre k - k

This easy simple counting book helps kids count back from 10. This book shouldn’t be used in any classroom higher than kindergarten but it’s a great way to teach the kids that standard.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Library find.
The best counting book I've come across so far. It's an interactive book that is best suited for slightly older readers who won't rip pages.
I wonder if there is a board book or indestructible paper version of this book...

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Numbers story time! The format of this one is cute, because the pages start small (when there are 10 birds) and the get bigger and bigger as more birds fall off and you move farther down the twig. It would also be super easy and cute as a felt story.

[A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhyme scheme is a little loose, but the clean graphics and bright palette will be a big selling point for the youngest readers. Hope to see a board book edition at some point!

[PB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Sourcebooks for sending me a free copy!

[Rebecca Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great counting book with simple but impactful illustrations and a fun format. The twist at the end will make kids last.