Lifetime: The Amazing Numbers in Animal Lives

Written by Lola M. Schaefer and illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal, Lifetime: The Amazing Numbers in Animal Lives is an extraordinary counting picture book that invites readers to learn about some very interesting facts regarding the lives of a variety of animals. Readers learn about the numerous things that can happen in just a single lifetime, such as "a seahorse will birth 1,000 babies" and "a woodpecker will drill 30 roosting holes". The content is based off of real data gained from observing a wild animal from birth to adulthood, and it counts how many times an animal conducts a certain activity or behavior, or gains a particular feature.

This book was really something special, and not like anything I've read before. It was cool to have all of those facts in one place instead of having to learn about one animal at a time. It's intriguing, sometimes astounding, and I learned a lot from reading it! I like that it is exciting yet informational to read, and this book can be tied into many content areas like science, art, reading and math. I would use this book in an elementary class setting during a math lesson. Students would read through the book, and then synthesize the numbers and facts into tangible elements. For example, students might read that a caribou will grow and shed 10 pairs of antlers; they would then use paper cutouts to represent the number 10 on a piece of paper. For the larger numbers (a giraffe will wear 200 spots), students might use pieces of paper that are labeled by 10's to represent the number 200 - there would be 20 pieces of paper to illustrate counting by ten's. Students could illustrate their counting with the animal they are representing.

Schaefer, L. (2013). Lifetime: The amazing numbers in animal lives. San Fransisco, CA: Chronicle Books.