book report: None the Number

Oliver Jeffers, with the help of the Hueys, is answering the question, "is none a number?"

None the Number: A Hueys Book

author/illustrator: Oliver Jeffers

published by Harper Collins Children's Books (2014)

thought provoking for children age 4 - 7

picture book
numbers, counting, math

Oliver Jeffers has written and/or illustrated a number of books for children. [Here] is his bookshelf.

I have to admit that I did not fall in love with Jeffers' books as soon as I should have. (I attended a couple too many teacher workshops where were were put into groups to do an activity based on Jeffer's first book, How to Catch a Star. Not everyone likes group work -- especially with people you don't know!) Now I want my own copy - but not for group work.

Last year, I didn't mean to buy The Day the Crayons Quit. But I loved it. (Read just this week that Universal has bought the movie rights to the book.)

Stuck became a class favourite this year. How do you get a kite out of tree?

I just bought This Moose Belongs to Me on a trip to Jasper (wonderful town in the Rocky Mountains in Alberta) last month. Another brilliant-make-you-think story.

And then None the Number called out to me at the Library. I didn't even plan to go into the children's section!

Doing my best to make up for lost Oliver Jeffers book appreciation time.

Visit oliverjeffersworld.com (just spent way too long there - again) to learn more about Oliver Jeffers and to enjoy some activities based on his books.

Back to None the Number.

The book begins with a question.

"How many lumps of cheese do you see just there?"

And an answer.

"um ... I don't see any."

Then we get the explanation.

"That's because there are none!"

And another question.

"Is none a number?"

The Hueys proceed to count objects to ten.

I love that there is an unwritten story behind the pictures for each number.

What is happening on the "big day"? How long have they been waiting? I bet it is going to be very exciting.

Why are the fishermen waiting for the bus? Do they know each other. Where are they going? How many fish will they catch?

Whose birthday is it? Who is the gift from? How unobservant can those Hueys be - it is obvious that the birthday gift must be a book! (I can just hear my k-kids shout out what the gift really is after I read each Huey's guess!)