Part of Series
Guess how many words you can learn together with Big and Little Nutbrown Hare! The beloved pair turn to naming things in the natural world for their youngest fans. As Little Nutbrown Hare hops across some stones in a river, he sees so many interesting things—fish and swans, an otter and beaver, a willow tree and reeds, the water itself. Meanwhile, at a farm full of animals, Little Nutbrown Hare enthuses about all the new babies—a hen with her chicks, a cow with her calf, a horse with a foal, a proud pig and her piglets. Whether it’s a pond full of ducklings and frogs and lily pads, or a meadow bursting with bees and butterflies and buttercups, the simple presentation of named objects and sweetly inviting illustrations offer an ideal setting for little ones to discover what nature holds—and to learn the words for what they see. A spinoff to the family classic Guess How Much I Love You, this is a read-aloud that will beg for many return visits.
Author
The 1943 born Northern Ireland native started writing children's books when he was a teacher in his thirties, with the aim of helping out students who had trouble reading. But he continued writing for a more-personal reason: "the act of imagining simply makes me feel good," he says. The fifty-seventh book of Sam McBratney's career, and his first book with Candlewick Press, was the much-loved GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU, which has sold an astonishing 15 million copies worldwide, and is available in 37 languages. "This is not the sort of thing you expect when most of your books have been remaindered," the author admits. "But, as the frog trapped in the milk discovered, if you keep going, sometimes you find yourself walking on cream cheese." Where does Sam McBratney get his inspiration? "I told my children stories when they were young," he says, "so when I write I try to think of what they would have liked." But there may be another source guiding his writing as well. The author's father—who worked as a type compositor with the BELFAST TELEGRAPH, and whose favorite books were westerns—is the person Sam McBratney credits for giving him his love of the English language. "Most of my picture books—GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU, THE DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS, JUST ONE!, and JUST YOU AND ME—explore the relationship between a big one and a wee one," the author notes. "The big one is not called the father in the stories, but that's what he is. Although my dad died before I became a writer, the father in my stories has a voice and a presence that he would have recognized and understood." In addition to authoring many books for children, Sam McBratney wrote radio plays for adults and a prize-winning collection of short stories. He received a degree in history and political science from Trinity College, Dublin, and worked for many years as a teacher.
