Easy counting and simple verse kept two young readers (a two-year-old and a five-year-old) absorbed by BARN CAT. With each turn of the page, both would repeat the verse, "Barn cat, barn cat, what are you looking for?" And though the preschooler added his insights into what this usually tranquil feline might be in search of, the toddler liked to go over the numbers again and again.

Award-winning artist Mary Azarian's bold, lush woodcuts sing across the pages. One full-page spread shows three monarch butterflies resting on purple flowers while the striped cat, with one eye open, spies on them. Another shows a close-up of seven baby birds chirping away in their treetop nest as the barn cat naps below.

For another enjoyable counting book, try Mouse Count.