COUNT WITH MAISY, CHEEP, CHEEP, CHEEP!

Barnyard antics combine with flaps and basic counting skills in this, the latest of Maisy’s adventures.

With bedtime on the horizon, Mommy Hen enlists Maisy’s aid in rounding up her widely scattered little flock. With a variety of shaped flaps, Maisy’s search for each chick takes readers to different parts of the farm. From the pigsty to the apple tree, eventually nine of the errant fowl are accounted for. Finding the last and 10th, however, requires a bit more work (and quite a few more flaps) before the final chick returns to its family. As if starring in a reverse telling of the song “Five Little Ducks,” Mommy Hen’s ever increasing brood will provide a great deal of amusement for the toddler and preschooler set. As they are found one by one, they accompany Maisy while she searches around the farm, often riding on her head or tail and once, in a particularly surreal touch, even on an elephant. While the book hardly breaks new ground, the counting combined with the flaps, appealing barnyard animals and varied farm locations make this an ideal counting companion to better known stories and songs, such as “Old MacDonald.”

A book that doesn’t take any “cheep” shots at the material.