Carmela LaVigna Coyle's first book, Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? is enjoyed by little princesses everywhere. And now there are several Do Princess titles to choose from. She writes from her studio in Colorado with a puppy on her lap, and beside a wall of glass "to better see the seasons."
Carmela wrote her first story, "Forget-Me-Not," when she was ten-years-old. She hasn't forgotten it... she just can't find it.
She's married, and has two fabulous college age children.
This is a very simple, colorfully illustrated counting book. If you like the other "Do Princesses..." books, you should add this to your collection for your young pre-school princesses.
Summary/Reason for Rating: This is a book about a girl, who counts animals while on her hike, including butterflies, deer, and frogs; it teaches numbers 1 – 10. I rate this book a 5 for its sparkly numbers, colors of the words, and the drawings. The numbers are large and sparkly silver; they almost feel like a sticker. The words on each page, as well as the outlines of each number, are a different color on each page; this allows parents to practice colors with their child while reading the book. After each word on the page, there is an equivalent number of exclamation points as the number represented on each page; again, another object for children to practice counting. The images are simple, fun, and cartoon like, which would appeal to early readers.
I was a bit wary of this book when my 4-year-old insisted on picking it up at the library (Ever since I was a kid, I've had an intense suspicion of all things hot pink and sparkly) but the main character in Do Princesses Count? is a gal after my own heart- she puts on a daisy crown and pulls on her hiking shoes and then counts deer and rabbits and skunks in a romp through the woods with her dog. The only real issue I had with the book is the fact that the number of exclamation points on the page increases with each number, and I found that to be extremely distracting. Overall, a fun read.
We bought this book from the book sale at our library and it one of her favorites she picks up all the time and bring to me or she flips through and pretends to read herself and points out things like her shoes and frogs and tells me where they are.