One Sheep, Two Sheep: A Book of Collective Nouns

by Patricia Byers, Tamsin Ainslie (Illustrator)

Simple, sweet, and utterly charming, this is a book that will teach little ones about basic collectives This adorable counting book includes pictures of children dressed up as their favorite animals—such as geese, butterflies, kangaroos, and frogs—to help teach young ones counting terms. Laid out in accessible two-page spreads, each section includes animals in ones, twos, and then an entire group—for example, "One fish, two fish, and a school of fish." With simple and colorful pictures accompanying the educational text, this is a fun and useful tool for any child to learn basic collective terminology.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

24 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2010

Reviews

[Fatima Seraj Alam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the title says, it’s a book on collective animal nouns. As if it wasn’t puzzling enough why each species has their own collective noun, my daughter is also asking me why it’s mischief of mice and knot of frogs?
Curiosity aside, I would have preferred if there were illustrations of actual animals and not humans playing dress up as this confuses a young child.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am fascinated by collective(group) nouns, but the idea illustrated in this title not so much. Instead of using illustrations of the actual animals, the illustrations use whimsical children playing dress up as the particular animal. This is a title from Australia and perhaps I am missing some thing on a cross cultural basis. I did learn that a group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope, but a group of children is called a party? I am scratching my head on that one.

[Grace Moore]

This simple yet exciting book teaches children about collective nouns. Every two pages of the book is dedicated to a different animal. On one page, the animal is presented by itself, with the animal standing by itself. The next page contains the same animal in a pair of two and in a group of three or more animals ("One fish, two fish, and a school of fish"). This text is a counting book that will help children learn to count and to begin to use basic collective nouns and plural nouns to describe their environment. For this text, each child could be assigned an animal from the book. The children then draw and color their animals. They then present to the class the name of their animal, the number of that animal that they drew, and the appropriate names of the collective group.

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Text: 3 stars
Illustrations: 4 stars

Short nonfiction picture book portraying a number of collective nouns (i.e. "a flock of sheep," "a pride of lions," etc.). Focuses specifically on animals. Illustrations depict young children dressed up as the animal discussed on each page spread. Conveys the idea that collective terms describe more than two of the same item.

[The Library Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute without being saccharine.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief read that could accompany a discussion on collective nouns or what different groups of animals are called, like a pride of lions or a gaggle of geese.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for my babies and toddlers!

[Caitlin Sanocki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books is great for teaching about nouns as well as counting. Appropriate for 2nd grade through 4th grade.