A Pod of Orcas: A Seaside Counting Book

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is the
author of several books, including The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese
Women’s Lives, Kurlek and Margaret Laurence: T

Small children can learn to count quickly and easily with this
“counting book.” The first half of the book begins with a calm early
morning scene: “One lonely lighthouse / guides ships night and day /
Two giant freighters drop anchor in the bay.” As the day progresses,
“a super pod of orcas” appears. As the day winds down, all the
hustle and bustle subsides. The second half begins in the early evening
and moves toward dusk as “Ten sleepy sail boats shelter in the bay. /
Nine salmon fishboats head home for the day.” The reverse-counting
order—like a big wave receding—ends with the freighters, now loaded,
moving off while the tide is “melting” the children’s sandcastles
and the fishing boats are heading home.

Sheryl McFarlane is an award-winning author who lives on Canada’s
West Coast. Kirsti Anne Wakelin, a graduate of the BCIT Painting,
Decorating and Motion Picture Set Painting Program, is also from the
West Coast and has illustrated several books. In this book, her gently
glowing watercolor illustrations are a perfect match for McFarlane’s
gently rhythmic text. Highly recommended.