Count the Birdies

Local Seattle artist and BlueBottle gallery owner, Matthew Porter, has recently published his second children’s book Count the Birdies, geared to teach children to count and recognize colors. The illustrations are inspired by Japanese woodcuts which include house sparrows perched on white pear blossoms, tiny hummingbirds flitting among pink cherry blossoms and other common birds and flowers. I haven’t read it yet but the illustrations look just as lovely as his first book, ABC, which was a Winner of Child Magazine 2006 Best Children’s Books and was chosen by the American Association of Booksellers for Children as one of the Best Books for Children in 2006! Both of my girls love this book where Matthew has illustrated animals for each letter — for instance, “N” is for “Nuthatch” (a bird) and “Q” is for “Quokka” (an Australian marsupial).

If you fancy decorating your child’s room with uniquely painted pieces of the Quokka, Vole or Nuthatch, Matthew sells them in limited edition format at BlueBottle gallery.