Out on the Prairie & Deep in the Swamp

Author Donna M. Bateman is showcased in this iconographic-animated double-feature that presents rhythmic counting stories involving animals indigenous to certain biomes. Illustrated by Susan Swan, 2012's Out on the Prairie features a shaggy mother bison and her baby, a pronghorn and her two kids, a prairie dog mom and her four pups, and a sharp-tailed grouse and her six chicks (who “scurried after beetles where the grass and flowers mix”)—all the way up to 10 Great Plains toads. Illustrated by Brian Lies, 2007's Deep in the Swamp sports a different backdrop, but still showcases multiples of various animals, including the river otter, snapping turtle, alligators, blue heron, and nine rat snakelets who “climbed up a pine where the bamboo vines twine.” Narrated by Tony Fragale and Melissa Kate Miller, both stories feature detailed artwork, numbers reviews, and bonus facts about flora and fauna in the inspirational Badlands and Okefenokee national parks. Recommended. Aud: K, P. (J. Williams-Wood)