10 Fat Turkeys

by Tony Johnston, Richard F. Deas (Illustrations)

A fun, silly, bouncy rhyming book that teaches little ones how to count backwards! Perfect for fall, or all-year-round! "Looky!" says a silly turkey swinging from a vine. Gobble gobble wibble wobble. Whoops! Now there are nine. Children will gobble up this hilarious story about ten goofy turkeys and their silly swinging from a vine, strutting on a boar, doing a noodle dance, and more! Beloved author Tony Johnston brings a lively energy to the text, which first-time illustrator Richard Deas brings to life as wild and wacky fun!

Genres: Thanksgiving, Picture Books, Counting, Childrens, Holiday, Animals, Storytime

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Tony Johnston has written many acclaimed books for young people. She and her husband lived in Mexico for fifteen years, where they raised their children. She now lives in San Marino, California.

Reviews

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten fat turkeys, counting down to none.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun with rhyming words and counting backwards. Perfect for preschoolers through 1st grade.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute and silly story. I look forward to sharing it with my baby!

[Alexis Slankard · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son loved the song aspect of this book!

[Annikka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summarize the book:
10 Fat Turkeys is a book about 10 turkeys that are sitting on a fence, and they leave the fence in different and fun ways. As the book progresses you count backwards starting at 10 in a "Gobble Gobble Wibble Wobble" sort of rhyming way.

Identify the characteristics from the text that support the specific genre:
This book has bright, colorful, and fun pictures that take up a majority of the space on the page. The text is in rhyme with short verses, at times being creative with words. The story moves along at a quick pace, but keeping with the concept of counting backwards.

Identify specific concepts that could be integrated into the classroom:
This book can be integrated into a classroom by working on counting backwards. Also, this book could potentially be used as a way to look at context or the rhyme to figure out what number might come next if the student doesn't know automatically. For example, one turkey swings on a VINE to make NINE.

Provide any other suggestions that would be useful regarding literary content, reading level, and other ways in which the book might be integrated:
This book was written for ages 3-5, and is also a good example of rhyming as well as counting. The Lexile Measure is listed at a 320L. This book could be used as an introduction to subtraction, and while it does only deal with turkeys it can be used at different times other than Thanksgiving.

[Clara H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very similar to the story of the ten monkeys jumping on the bed. It follows Turkeys, which is appropriate for thanksgiving, as they all fall off of a fence. One by one they do something that makes them fall off, and as the reader counts down, they enjoy funny images of these Turkeys. Soon they all fall off, but then it all starts again as they climb up into a tree!

The theme of this book is simply counting and vocabulary, as well as thanksgiving.

This book would be great in a pre-school class learning how to count, or even a lower elementary class learning about rhyming. There are a lot of good vocab words and rhymes in the book, including, strutting, foofy, swan dive, and many more words that the children do not know. Since the book ends with the beginning of them on a tree, the teacher could challenge her students to come up with rhymes about how the Turkeys will fall off the tree, so they can practice writing skills and learn about how to sound out words, especially using rhymes.

[Cindi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this is a book of counting backwards from ten to 1, even older kids will enjoy reading about the antics of these ten fat turkeys on a fence. With the phrase, "Gobble Gobble Wibble Wobble," each turkey tries to do a death-defying stunt, only to fall to the ground. One foofy turkey wearing an aviator's cap tries to fly higher than the clouds, one goofy turkey dressed like the star of a roller derby team tries to skate on the fence, and one goony turkey wearing a boot on his head tries strutting until he can't see where he is going.

When the last turkey falls to the ground and the fence is destroyed one would think the turkeys had learned their lesson. But no, before you can say "Gobble Gobble Wibble Wobble" and do the noodle dance, the turkeys are sitting on the branches of tree acting just as silly and reckless as before

[Stephanie H (My Bookish Itinerary) · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 Fat Turkeys is one my girls' favorite books. We have read this story so many times (for years now). Even when it isn't around Thanksgiving. They love it. 10 Fat Turkeys is a silly and very entertaining story about 10 turkeys sitting on a fence. It is a wonderful story to read with younger children because it rhymes, has repetition, and has counting. My girls find this story to be hilarious and they laugh every single time we read it. I really enjoy reading it with them. It isn't really a Thanksgiving story, but we like to read it especially around Thanksgiving because of the turkeys. I highly recommend reading this one. It is fun and kids will love it.

This review, as well as, Cutie Pie and Cutie Pie #2's thoughts can be found on my blog: My Bookish Itinerary

[Luisa Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a cute boardbook for the young!

Ages: 2 - 6

Cleanliness: "Mercy!" is exclaimed.

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[Betsy McElhannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. 10 Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston
2. Awards: None
3. Genre: Beginning Books
4. Setting: On the fence where the turkeys sit.
5. This a story about 10 fat turkeys that sit on a fence. As the book goes along turkeys falls from the fence until there are no turkeys left. It is a great book to read to a kindergarten class as they learning how to count to and from the number 10. I used this book with my current kindergartners, and I plan to use it again around Thanksgiving in my future classes.

[Relyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a string of Thanksgiving books that I read to my daughter and my second graders. These will be quick reviews based on the reactions of my daughter and students. I put the date the same for each book, but I really read them in the week leading up to Thanksgiving, and on Thanksgiving Day. Under the how many times I've read it category, that will be how many Thanksgivings I've used this book.

This is fun and funny. The kids like it.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ha--a good laugh and a good counting book around Thanksgiving. The pictures might be a little busy for the toddler age, but I'm hoping the counting will keep them occupied.

11/9/10 I decided to skip this one in toddler because of time (and comprehension level). The special needs group really liked it though. I didn't bother with the counting but went for the silly antics instead. Still worked. Perhaps another time I'll do this for the counting aspect with the preschool age.

[Christine L. Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great little board book that tells the tale of 10 turkeys who each do their turn of dancing on a fence and then falling off. There is a constant repetition of the verse…Gobble, gobble, wibble, wobble that will bring a giggle to the young ones. The pictures are very colorful and will be appealing to the little tykes as well.

[RC · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does exactly what it needs to do. It has a fun rhyme scheme with kooky words that will appeal to kids. It enhances children's skills in counting backwards from 10, a skill not often featured in counting books. It has creative images and goofy details that will keep kids and adults interested. And, overall, it is a fun pre-Thanksgiving read that could be read all year round.

[T Crockett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book would work well in a one on one setting. I saw it read to a class of kids (2-3 yrs) and they lost interest. There's sooo much on each page that unless you're right up close you can't make out what's going on. Several of the kids said they have the book at home and were clearly excited to see it.

[Nadine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this to the Kindergarten kids today and they loved it. They actually asked if I could read it again, so we'll be looking at it again this week. They had fun counting backwards as the turkeys fell off the fence.

[Brian Strand · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about 10 fat turkeys sitting on a fence. Each one does something funny and ends up falling off the fence. This book is fun because the turkeys are wacky, but the ending leaves it wide open to make up another story.

[Foxytocin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this to a group of toddlers this morning for toddler time at the library and I've gotta say, it's a crowd pleaser for very young children....it's a simple counting book and the turkey's a so, so silly.....

[Tanya Wadley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun book with great rhythm and rhyme. We have read it twice in two days and I think the kids would be happy if I said, "Let's read this one again!". As a "counting" book, I liked that it goes backward.

[Katie Clark]

This is a cute book about ten fat turkeys that are acting silly while sitting on a bench all the while counting down from 10 to 1. I really liked this book and it can be used in the classroom to introduce to younger students counting down from 10 to 1.

[kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this to 50 1st and 2nd graders today and they LOVED it! They were totally into the hilarious looking turkeys, the cadence, and the simplicity of story. They all were shouting out the next number as I turned each page. Fun book for little ones!

[Violet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a rhyming children's book that deals with counting. This book however, deals with counting backwards, and it does it by having silly rhymes that go with it. It is a little bit of a tongue twister, but students will really enjoy it.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hilarious rhyming story about 10 turkeys trying to walk across a fence. Each turkey encounters some sort of mishap such as roller skating off the fence, swallowing a bumblebee or blowing a gum bubble big enough to encompass himself.

Kids will enjoy counting down with the ridiculous turkeys!

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very funny and can be read any time of the year.

[Shareena · Rating 5 out of 5]

good for number sequencing and counting backwards. Great illustrations

[Jolene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I just really like the 'gobble gobble wibble wobble'!

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun thanksgiving book!

[Caroline Petty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to read around thanksgiving when turkey is on everyone's minds. It's nonsensical words are good for making children laugh.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am now enjoying rating children's books! This one is super cute and funny!

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Counting board book with some adventurous fat turkeys. Cute.