Over in the Meadow

My son (17 mos.) and I enjoy this book immensely. We own the over-sized paperback edition and I am strongly considering the board book to better endure all the "love" he showers the holes and animals with. As with all "Classic Book With Holes" items, the newest hole on each page reveals the animal the text is rhyming about as you discover more and more animals tucked into their natural terrains within the meadow. It is both a counting book and a lesson in animal habitat and behavior. (for example:) Over in the meadow Where the stream runs blue, Lived an old mother fish And her little fishes two. "Swim!" said the mother, "We swim!" said the two, So they swam and they leapt Where the stream runs blue. This continues through rabbits numbering seven wherein lies my only complaint. They wimped out on numbers 8-10 (it looks like they were running out of room for new holes) and put their rhymes on the last page after revealing them all the page before. I have to quickly scan and try to memorize the last page so I can flip back and point out the last few animal families within the, now quite busy, meadow. My book-happy son rarely puts up with the flipping back and forth and the last animals get relatively neglected. Despite this, Over the Meadow is still one of my all-time favorites and will be kept around my house for children to come.