A little race car settles down after a long, tiring day in this new going-to-bed book for little ones into all things automobile. It’s a quick read with approximately 200 words but it’s packed with cuteness! Adorable illustrations accompany the quiet rhyming text as the race car gets ready for bed and has sweet dreams. I’d highly recommend this book as a fun alternative to any animal-themed bedtime books. It’s sure to be a much requested going-to-bed story.
This is a clever, witty book written from a young boy’s perspective about when he learned how to operate several trucks and big machines. It’s hilarious how the author gets you believing that at such a young age, this boy is using a cement mixer, backhoe, 18-wheeler … you name it and this boy has probably operated it! You come to find out they are all toy trucks he’s operated and his room is like a parking lot, but when he grows up he’d love to drive a truck. Great rhyme teaches about various large trucks, and wonderfully bold and bright illustrations make this book one of my new favorites!
Duck gets on a tractor, after all he rode a bike before! After pressing a few petals and trying various things he turned a “shiny little piece of metal by the steering wheel.” Pretty soon all the farm animals are hopping on for the ride, saying their regular animals sounds by thinking something different. The animals end up going onto the main road past the diner and it’s such a sight to see that nobody can quite believe all those animals are on a tractor. Yet once the diner crowd goes outside there’s no trace of the animals. The farmer must have just left the tractor on! Another great book from David Shannon with spectacular illustrations that are sure to enthrall kids ages 4-8.
OUTDOOR MATH:
FUN ACTIVITIES FOR EVERY SEASON
Written and illustrated by Emma AdBåge
(Kids Can Press; $15.95, Ages 5-8)
I am so glad I had the chance to read Outdoor Mathand have only positive things to say about it. This delightfully illustrated book is super fun and packed with hands-on activities that focus on going outdoors and playing. The bookstarts off with an introduction to numbers 0-10 with real world examples, then there are numerous math activities for each season of the year, followed by a brief explanation and examples of plus and minus, then multiply and divide. There’s even some science that can be learned especially when engaging in the seasonal-themed activities.
The majority of the book is divided into the four seasons, each with five to seven outdoor math activities so the book provides year round entertainment and education. All of the activities listed looked interesting so of course I had to try a few. My daughter and I enjoyed bouncing a ball for a minute. She was so good at bouncing the ball it was hard to keep track, but we managed to count 135 bounces in one minute. Then we played Tic-Tac-Toe from the book’s Autumn section. We had such a good time playing with our placeholders–seedpods and bits of mulch. After three tied games, I was the lucky winner!
The counting and tossing outdoor activities are sure to be a hit with kids even as young as three years old. I felt the rest of the activities could work for almost any age. There are timed activities with counting, as well as activities with maps and shapes, and some games that require coordination. What I love about the book is how many of the activities have kids exercising while they’re doing a math skill. Outdoor Math: Fun Activities for Every Season gives great examples of educational play with simple rules for young kids.
Although I live in sunny southern California where it’s summer almost all year long, the activities can be done anywhere. The book is a wonderful STEM resource because it’s easy to substitute objects depending on the time of year and where you live. For example, Pine Cone Math where you collect pine cones can be substituted with shells, rocks or toys instead. I feel confident recommending Outdoor Math as it’s a terrific book for kids and their parents/teachers/grandparents that’s certain to get everyone moving outside while doing math activities. It goes to show that math is all around us and almost any activity can be a math activity! Thank you Emma AdBåge for making a playful and hands-on book for kids.
After playing Outdoor Math, your kids might just find other ways to incorporate math into play too. I was surprised and happy to see my kids making designs from the objects we used. In fact, as you can see below, there is even math to be found in neat designs!
Funny Food Made Easy:
Creative, Fun, & Healthy Breakfasts, Lunches, & Snacks
by Bill and Claire Wurtzel
(Welcome Books; $19.95)
Funny Food Made Easy is an entertaining book and sure to be one for both the coffee table and kitchen table! It’s beautiful and fun at the same time. I must say that Bill and Claire Wurtzel are extremely creative with simple ingredients. They can make broccoli look like a poodle dog or fried eggs with cheese look like a cute couple holding hands. They show you how you can make whimsical items and people out of cut watermelon or pineapple as well as oatmeal with a bit of raisins and sliced apples. They offer plenty of suggestions for variations but show a lot of step by step instructions too. Basically the title says it all.
I recently had some of my kids’ friends over and these 7-10 year olds were having the best reactions with the book. They would say, “Oh, that’s so cool!” one minute, to “Eww, I don’t think I want to eat that, but it looks neat,” to “I wish I could make that!” Sometimes they just laughed out loud delighting in devouring page after page of neat faces and food art displayed in this extremely original book, a companion to the always popular Funny Foodfrom 2012. It was such fun to watch the kids enjoying the book so much!
Funny Foods Made Easy has very simple and healthy ingredients and the authors have put a lot of time and attention into detail. They have suggestions and instructions how to have your own funny food workshop and it seems like a great idea for kids and their parents. While you may remember your parents telling you not to play with your food, this book encourages lots of play with food. After seeing the array of all you can do with your meals and snacks, you may never look at toast the same way again!
PEG + CAT: THE PIZZA PROBLEM
Written and illustrated by Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson
(Candlewick Entertainment; $12.99, Ages 3-7)
Peg + Cat: The Pizza Problem is another wonderful book from the creators of the popular educational PBS show, Peg + Cat! You don’t need to be familiar with Peg + Cat to enjoy this book because their characters shine through in the text and illustrations.
Peg and her cat open up Peg’s Pizza Place and are excited to serve the first customers when she gets an order for half a pizza among the orders of whole pizzas. At first she doesn’t know what half a pizza is, but luckily her friends come and help her realize that half a pizza is just one pizza cut down the middle, a semi-circle. Peg and Cat continue to fulfill new orders and provide entertainment for the customers, but then there is a dilemma! Peg gets four more orders and there’s only enough ingredients to make two and a half pizzas. Luckily, some of the orders were for half pizza pies, so she just might have enough to satisfy everyone.
Peg + Cat: The Pizza Problem is a terrific book for kids ages three through seven who will appreciate the bright and cheerful illustrations while learning helpful math concepts. The story really had some good twists and turns, so much that it kept me engaged because I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. I’m always happy to see math concepts being introduced and taught in real-to-life scenarios so kids can grasp the concepts easily. I also enjoyed the part where Peg got so stressed and had to be reminded to count down from five to one to calm down–an important lesson kids and adults both need.
Thank you Jennifer Oxley and Bill Aronson for your great work with Peg + Cat! We look forward to what other fun math related books you create.
We’re Talking All Things Web Today
With ABCs of the Web & Web Design for Kids
Math maven Lucy Ravitch is back to share two books about the web which she says are sure to be a hit with parents who want their youngsters to be “in the know” with the computer world and what makes it tick.
ABCs of the Web, written by John C. Vanden-Heuvel, Sr. and Andrey Ostrovsky, MD, with illustrations by Tom Holmes ( Little Bee Books; $8.99, Ages 4-8), has recently been released as a board book and it’s brilliant! The sturdiness of the pages is ideal for the age group geared for this primer. The catchy rhythm that goes along with it reminds me a bit of Dr. Suess’s ABC book. Just listen…
A is for Anchor tag
Attach with A.
Explore with A.
What begins with A?
Anchor tag brings elements together for a day.
I think it’s a wonderful idea to teach kids at an early age. In its clever approach, the book teaches the basics of a lot of internet lingo and elements. It would be an interesting activity after reading the book to go on the web with your child and look up examples of some of the alphabet letters presented. Even if the child doesn’t understand all the terms, the book is laid out in such a fun way with simple and sleek illustrations I feel kids will ask for it to be read again and again. In fact, it even kept me engaged as a parent! Using such simple words, the authors did a great job of teaching complex topics. Though it’s recommended for ages 4-8, I think you could even introduce this book to younger children. Concepts are: Domain, Elements, Function, Google, HTML, Internet, JavaScript, Keyword, Link, Mozilla, Node.js, Open Source, PHP, Query, Ruby, SEO, Tag, URL, Virus, WordPress, XML, YouTube, and Z-index.
After reading Web Design for Kids: Coding for Kids Series, also written by John C. Vanden-Heuvel, Sr., with illustrations by Cristian Turdera (Little Bee Books; $8.99, Ages 4-8), I’d say this 2.0 Geeked out Lift-the-flap edition is more suited for a bit of an older child than the previous title. While it has fewer pages than the other, the pages are more text heavy and the lift-the-flaps seem suited more for an older kids who will be more careful not to pull too hard. Topics included are HTML, CSS, and Javascript. They are each briefly explained and creatively illustrated along with several elements taught within those topics.
Since there is a lot of information in the book, perhaps it should be taken a couple of pages per sitting (even though your child will probably want to lift every flap). My four-year-old daughter enjoyed the pictures and wanted to go much faster than I could read all the information as she was busy flipping open the flaps. I thoroughly enjoyed Web Design for Kids and frankly learned a lot of info myself. While my techie oriented family found the book fun, I recognize it may not be for every child. If your child likes nonfiction books and learning new things though, this is definitely a fab find. Overall, both books are clever and engaging, providing an entertaining and educational way to talk about the elements of the world wide web and web design.
A ROUNDUP OF TANTAN PUBLISHING
MATH CONCEPTS PICTURE BOOKS
featuring:
Could You Lift Up Your Bottom?, Math at the Art Museum, and Ruffer’s Birthday Party
The first book in my roundup is called Could You Lift Up Your Bottom? by Hee-jung Chang with illustrations by Sung-hwa Chung. (TanTan Publishing; $16.95)
This book piqued my interest with its funny title, so I chose to make it my first read of the three math stories books I received. It has a relatively simple story of a frog whose hat has blown away and an elephant who sits on it. Stubborn and greedy Elephant will not move one inch, demanding different shaped food to eat. Frog fulfills the elephant’s requests in hopes that Elephant will lift up his bottom and get off of the hat. Love it! Eventually Frog is able to get Elephant to eat part of a honeycomb in a beehive. He then runs off due to the bees going after him. Could You Lift Up Your Bottom? reminded me a bit of Jon Klassen’s, I Want My Hat Back but teaching shapes along the way. The illustrations are unique and should appeal to kids because they can duplicate the simplistic art style. This book would be a good one to borrow from a library or have in a classroom. It has some nice information and suggested activities in the back of the book as well.
Understanding math concepts
Shape and space
Explaining the basic concept of space and three types of plane figures: triangle, quadrangle (tetragon), circle
Next, I read Math at the Art Museum by Group Majoongmul and illustrated by Yun-ju Kim. (TanTan Publishing; $16.95)
This picture book is about a boy visiting an art museum with his family. The museum is having a special “Discover Math in Art” exhibit. Numerals, colors, shapes, direction, perspective, symmetry, and time are discussed as the family looks at different paintings from Seurat, Picasso, Degas, and more. I found this to be an enjoyable read that would engage children 4-9. In addition to liking the story, kids would like looking at the artwork presented in the book. Again, the publisher gave information in the back matter with suggestions for activities, but my favorite part was this quote, “Because math is not a field that deals only with numbers and calculations, it’s important to encourage children to look for and learn from mathematical concepts in unexpected places, including in artwork.” I wholeheartedly agree–we should be showing children that math is all around us and isn’t just a stand alone subject to be shared only in school. I’m happy to discover these kid-oriented math stories that strive to make math concepts accessible to all.
Understanding math concepts
Patterns and problem solving
Introducing mathematical concepts that are found in our surroundings to give children a fresh perspective on math: math in art
My final read from this group of books was Ruffer’s Birthday Partyby Soon-jae Shin and illustrated by Min-jung Kim. The concepts emphasized are addition and subtraction, but a lot of other math concepts were shown in this book! I know kids will love it with the hands-on math examples. Ruffer is Nora’s pet dog and it’s his birthday in four days. They make invitations (to three friends and their pets–which they have to add up since they want to give an invitation to each of them), count down to the birthday party, bake a special cake (and since they are short on eggs they have to buy more at the store), they go to the store for last minute items (and there is a sale so we have to figure out the full price minus the discount and eventually figure out the total of the sale). Then, at the party Ruffer gets presents (and makes a chart to organize them–bones, stuffed animals, and balls) and everyone plays a ring toss game (in two teams with a few simple rules). It’s a fun read for kids who already love birthday books too!
Understanding math concepts
Numbers and operations
Dealing with operations with mathematical signs (÷, ×, +, -): addition and subtraction
My kids have been tinkering around with Scratch since they were about 6-years-old. For those unfamiliar with Scratch, it’s a free visual programming language that comes from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). You can find out more about it at www.scratch.mit.edu. Anyone can create stories, games, and animations and share them. Plus, you can download it onto your computer or play connected to the Internet.
I decided to start with Coding in Scratch: Games Workbook first. Reading through it, I became more familiar with how the games are supposed to work. There are handy arrows to all the parts you see on your screen as well as detailed instructions. This is really helpful for kids or adults who are not apt to explore all the buttons. In a way, I think both the Coding in Scratch: Games Workbook and Coding Games in Scratch: A Step-by-Step Visual Guide to Building Your Own Computer Games are also terrific or adults to read so they know what their kids are doing when they play and how they can assist if needed.
I had never played with Scratch before, but as I used both the book and workbook to make the suggested games, I learned a lot! The great thing about these books as well as Scratch is that readers see how it applies so many math concepts with the simple coding!
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has said, “Learning to code makes kids feel empowered, creative, and confident,” and I agree. After following the directions and learning how to make a sample game, I wish I’d had more time to tinker around with it and make my own creative game or animation. You might think that making a computer game is not a good use of time (I know I’ve been guilty of this), but after seeing all the math and logical thinking that goes into making a complete game in Scratch, I can tell you it is an educational and helpful exercise. I found it interesting that many of the big names in the computer industry – Jobs, Wozniak, and Zuckerberg – all made computer games as children.
In the book, Chapter One covers computer games: the various types of games, what makes a good game, and how coding works. Chapter Two talks about getting Scratch, either onto your computer or playing online, along with a tour of what the basic screen and controls look like. Chapters Three through Ten are directions for games that you can make. Chapter Eleven explains what can be next for you and your programming child, followed by a Glossary and Index.
I went ahead and made the first game in Chapter Three and just in that first game alone I learned how to: – assign sound effects – put the code directions for the sprites (characters) using if-then blocks and repeating blocks – pick a background – make sprites, name them, and move them in different directions (using degrees of rotation) – add chance (assign it to pick a random number between 1 and 6) – use the coordinate system along the x and y axis (including negative numbers) – create variables for sprites, and – run the complete project and check for bugs (mistakes in the program)
I noticed that as the chapters progressed the games got a bit more complex, even though they’re all actually simple games. If you use this book, it can expedite the learning curve for making your own games. You’ll also discover all the intricacies that Scratch games have to offer. My 10-year-old and I started to do another chapter and it was a fun activity to do with him. It’s amazing to see how fast children learn how to use the program.
After reviewing the Coding Games in Scratch: A Step-by-Step Visual Guide to Building Your Own Computer Games and Coding in Scratch: Games Workbook, I’d easily recommend getting both. Though the publisher’s recommended age for these books is ages 9-12, in my opinion even younger children would enjoy it. The book is extremely helpful to accelerate the learning of what fun, creative games you can make in Scratch, and the workbook makes sure you know the terminology and applications of the components of Scratch. I hope your children enjoy coding and that you can join them in discovering how fun and educational it is to create computer games!
Winter is definitely here! With parts of the country still under a blanket of snow, it’s a good time to share some cold-weather stories. So find a comfy chair, gather up your books, blanket, and a mug full of hot cocoa and read on.
Curious About Snow
by Gina Shaw
A Smithsonian Book
(Grosset & Dunlap; $3.99, Ages 6-8)
Winter time = snow in many parts of the world. Curious About Snow is a great book for curious minds! It helps little children to understand the basic structure of ice crystal, shows many photographs of snowflakes, and will probably make you want to go play in the snow! The book introduces the reader to Wilson Bentley, a man born in 1865, who dedicated his life to studying and photographing snow. You’ll be sure to learn a lot of facts while reading this book! While this Smithsonian book can certainly be loved by all ages, its target audience is elementary school children.
The Little Snowplow
Written by Lora Koehler
Illustrator by Jake Parker
(Candlewick; $15.99, Ages 3-7) The Little Snowplow reminds me of The Little Engine That Could for all the right reasons.You’re sure to love this book if you’re craving a story to encourage your little one about perseverance and practice. The little snowplow practices everyday just in case he’ll be needed for a big job. He continues to try hard even though the bigger snow equipment don’t think he’s useful. Then comes the day where his size and his capabilities save the day! Click here for an activity.
The Bear Report
Written and illustrated by Thyra Heder
(Abrams; $17.95, Ages 4-8)
Great storytelling happens within the beautiful artwork of Thyra Heder in The Bear Report. A young girl named Sophie is reluctant to do her homework about polar bears. After doing a minimalist job, a kind real-life polar bear shows up in her house to show her there are more interesting things where he lives. They go exploring the arctic while the polar bear shows her his favorite things – eating, sleeping, sliding. Sophie and the bear thoroughly enjoy the day together. When she returns home, Sophie is excited to share information about her new friend. This book received a star from Kirkus Reviews.
Toys Meet Snow: Being the Wintertime Adventures of a Curious Stuffed Buffalo, a Sensitive Plush Stingray, and a Book-loving Rubber Ball Written by Emily Jenkins Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky (Schwartz & Wade; $17.99, Ages 3-7)
This trio is loveable! Who knew a stuffed buffalo toy, a plush stingray, and a rubber ball could be so entertaining? Even though I had not read the previous trilogy of Toys Go Out, Toy Dance Party, and Toys Come Home I was easily able to fall in love with these characters as I got to know them. While their ‘Little Girl’ owner is away, the toys see the first snowfall of the season. The inquisitive buffalo gets replies from the poetic stingray and bookwormish ball. They proceed to make their way to the wintery outside world and return after a full day of outdoor play. A great book for a winter’s day!
Winter’s Child
Written by Angela McAllister
Illustrated by Grahame Baker-Smith
(Templar Books/Candlewick $16.99, Ages 3-7))
The fresh illustration style and heartwarming story in Winter’s Child are sure to make this book a classic! This is a storybook, which has much more text than the trending picture books, but it is well worth the read. A young boy, Tom, lives with his mother and Nana. It has been the longest winter they have ever seen and they begin to run out of needed food and supplies. Young Tom goes out to play each day as young children do and he meets a friend. They explore and have fun together for several days, but as time goes on the little family is getting worried that they won’t be able to eat or stay warm much longer. Eventually we find out Tom’s friend is Winter’s child and he didn’t want to sleep. Winter’s child, upon seeing that Tom’s family is being negatively affected, calls for his father. Winter takes his child and the following day signs of spring appear. This beautiful story almost made me cry as I read it to my kids. I was moved by its many great messages of friendship, family bonds, and sacrifice. I highly recommend it!
Linda Liukas’sHello Ruby is a book that first caught my eye on Kickstarter. In fact, I heavily modeled my Kickstarter project after it since its campaign had tons of contributors and raised over $380,000! After receiving a lot of attention, it got picked up to be traditionally published with an imprint of Macmillan, Feiwel and Friends.
Hello Ruby is all about teaching young kids the building blocks of coding. The book is broken up into nine small chapters. There’s a fairly simple story-line: Ruby needs to find five gems her dad has hidden around the house. Ruby goes on her adventure and starts with a plan by making a map. She ends up in the imaginary world of the map (I was a bit unsure how she got there, but it works with the book). She meets penguins, a snow leopard, foxes, robots, and a young boy on this adventure. As she goes along she is doing things that are the basis of coding.
Immediately following the story there’s a thorough and fun activity section that would be done with a child and parent or teacher. The kids (and adults) can learn about the basics of coding, such as strings, sequence, loops, selection, functions, and more! It’s written simply and clearly for young kids to understand.
I loved the adorable illustrations and so will your budding coders! Liukas has a bright, cheerful and kid-like illustration style that complemented the story and activities well. I know it’s the teacher in me, but I’m partial to books that have a teaching element and since my husband is a software engineer, I’m also familiar with these concepts in their basic forms.
A few months ago a friend asked my husband what apps or online activities are out there to help kids with coding and he gave these three sites saying …
If children are young there is scratch.mit.edu. There are also good exercises at code.org. If the kids are a bit older inventwithpython.com has books that teach more “real” programming skills.
With Hello Ruby, Linda Liukas has done a wonderful job portraying and teaching simple coding concepts in an entertaining and hands-on way. I think her website helloruby.com should be added to my husband’s list too. The website has great information and helpful teaching tools, along with some printables. Although it’s listed online for ages 4-8, I’d recommend Hello Ruby for children ages 5-9 (or anyone who wants to learn some fun kids activities that have coding concepts). Happy reading and coding everyone!
The Best Parts of Christmas
Written and illustrated by Bethanie Deeney Murguia
(Candlewick Press; $14.99 )
This is a sweet story about a young boy named Fritz during the Christmas season. Within the lovely watercolor illustrations you’ll find Fritz’s family as they get their tree, bring it into the house (breaking rule number 5 of “no branches, sticks, or twigs allowed indoors”), and prepare for the Christmas season. Fritz spends much of his time around the tree, making sweet memories. Even after the tree is taken away, he is able to keep a little bit of the Christmas spirit for the rest of the year. This book is perfect for little ones 3-7!
How to Catch Santa: A holiday How To book! Written by Jean Reagan and illustrated by Lee Wildish
(Alfred A. Knopf; $17.99)
What a fun read for kids and adults! How to Catch Santa goes through a lot of clever scenarios if you were to catch Santa. It also gives ideas for gifts and questions for the big man in red. My favorite part was how to find “Santa’s been here” clues so you don’t necessarily need to catch him, but you’re sure to know he came by. This book is sure to delight kids ages 4-8 and their parents–giving kids plenty of starter ideas as to how they might ‘catch Santa’. It also reassures that if you don’t catch him this year there is always next year.
The Runaway Santa: A Christmas Adventure Story Written by Anne Margaret Lewis and illustrated by Aaron Zenz
(Sky Pony Press; $15.99)
You’ve heard of The Runaway Bunny, right? Now it’s Santa’s turn and you’ll love the twist. Santa desperately wants to take a vacation and runaway to have fun adventures throughout the world. Mrs. Claus always shows her love by packing him the right equipment for the adventure. As he is out on the adventures it’s fun to try and find where Mrs. Claus is hiding within the illustrations. It’s a darling story and my four-year-old really enjoyed the simple and sweet pictures, especially when Santa swung with the monkeys. A jolly good book for kids 3-6!
Reviewed by Lucy Ravitch
Good Reads With Ronna is proud to be an IndieBookstores Affiliate. Doing so provides a means for sites like ours to occasionally earn modest fees that help pay for our time, mailing expenses, giveaway costs and other blog related expenses. If you click on an IndieBound link in a post and buy anything, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Your purchase supports our efforts and tells us you like the service we’re providing with our reviews, and for that we sincerely thank you.
My kids have only seen one or two episodes of the PBS show, Peg + Cat, but you don’t need to have seen episodes to like the picture book, Peg + Cat: The Race Car Problem! It’s a fun, creative story of Peg and Cat as they build a race car for a twenty lap race to compete with three other groups for the golden cup. There are several math related situations, such as which shape will roll the best, or what number lap they are on and is that less than the competition.
At the beginning of the story Peg and Cat are at a junk yard to make their race car for the big race. They put it together with a metal cylinder and some boxes and circle items for wheels (although when one wheel falls off they quickly realize that a square replacement wouldn’t roll).
This story reminds me of how fun it is to create objects and items from “junk.” This past June my family attended the local high school’s “Day of Making” which supported STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) education and there was a non-profit called Trash 4 Teaching which had a creation station. My kids spent almost an hour or more making various creations with hot glue and all these cool industrial product left-overs. I wish I had a picture!
I loved the fun illustrations with the graph paper background. Even the way they numbered the pages was fun (see photo – right)! The message that you should never give up was a good one in addition to all the numbers and problem solving. It’s also sure to bring a laugh to adults as they read the book aloud to their young kids (especially the part about the teens’ car and how they handle the race).
Overall, in Peg + Cat: The Race Car Problem, Peg and Cat have great personalities that shine through and help them persevere and win the race (even when car trouble crept up). This book will be a great addition to kids’ libraries for many years!
Good Reads With Ronna is proud to be an IndieBookstores Affiliate. Doing so provides a means for sites like ours to occasionally earn modest fees that help pay for our time, mailing expenses, giveaway costs and other blog related expenses. If you click on an IndieBound link in a post and buy anything, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Your purchase supports our efforts and tells us you like the service we’re providing with our reviews, and for that we sincerely thank you.
Helping teach little kids to count can be a fun though often repetitive task, but there are quite a few books out that can make the standard 123s more interesting.
Here are three very different approaches to the standard counting exercise.
Number Circus: 1-10 and Back Againby Kveta Pacovská is a number activity book for little ones. On each page the number is given in many different formats, for example: 2, two, OO (2 circles to touch), (an illustration in the shape of 2), and often a flap with the number of objects as well. It has bright, bold colors and a play-with-me feel so that young children will enjoy running their little fingers over the numbers and counting the objects (not to mention opening the flap). It’s got 28 pages and is die cut throughout, definitely making this a great book for tactile learning of the number names and formation of writing each number digit.
Counting Lions: Portraits From the Wildby Katie Cotton is a beautiful book! It is worth every page turn just to see Stephen Walton’s gorgeous charcoal drawings of these majestic animals, but endangered animals. It takes a traditional approach of going through numbers 1-10, but the little bits of informative text along with the beautiful, realistic illustrations are wonderful. My almost three year-old loved the drawings as well as counting the various animals including lions, elephants, giraffes, pandas, tigers, chimpanzees, penguins, turtles, macaws, and zebras. I also found the extra back-matter about the animals and their extinction level very interesting. I highly recommend this book!
Counting Crows by Kathi Appelt goes from 1-12. This picture book’s got a fun, rhythmic text that groups the crows into threes, making it a nice read and highly enjoyable for young ones. The dust jacket cover was also a hit because it has textures–fuzzy, soft stripes on the crows’ sweaters, a slightly raised and coarse feel for the tree, and a smooth and silky feel for the scarf and title letters. The black and white illustrations go well with the pop of red from the crows’ sweaters. Definitely worth several readings to teach counting!
It’s great to read so many neat approaches to teaching math and numeracy. I can’t wait to see what other math related books come out next!
LADYBUG GIRL AND THE BEST EVER PLAYDATE
Written by Jacky Davis
Illustrated by David Soman
(Dial Books for Young Readers; $17.99, Ages 3-5)
LADYBUG GIRL: THE SUPER FUN EDITION
Written by Jacky Davis
Illustrated by David Soman
(Dial Books for Young Readers; $18.99, Ages 3-5)
Ladybug girl first came into my older daughter’s life about 6 years ago when she was 6, and since then my 4-year-old now loves her! I must admit that I love her too! My favorite page is of Ladybug girl frowning in her room with tons of toys around her and “There’s nothing to do.” It truly reflects the child experience!
The original book, if you haven’t read it, is genius and is sure to bring you back to your childhood. Ladybug girl is rejected by her older brother, but that doesn’t stop her. She shows confidence and finds things to keep her busy and opportunities to serve.
The new Super Fun Edition come with a few punch out paper dolls and sticker outfits between the final endpapers. They are pretty easy to play with and you can see below how much fun my daughter had with them.
Exciting extras: With a poster (printed on the inside of the book jacket), a CD of the audio narration, and reusable paper-doll-style stickers, this gift edition has added value for fans of the series. A new, luxurious package, including redesigned cover with foil effects, makes this edition especially attractive and collectible.
The new book, Ladybug Girl and the Best Ever Playdate has many similar qualities as the original. The sweet message that life can be fun with the simple things. Ladybug girl is faced with a realistic event that happens in many children’s lives: A playdate. She is excited, but is she mainly excited to see her friend or the toy her friend is bringing? At first, it appears Lulu (AKA Ladybug Girl) only wants to play if they can play with the toy, but eventually she finds out that spending quality time with her friend means more than any toy.
Kids ages 3-5 (and maybe even 6) are sure to love the book! I think it is geared more toward girls, but boys may enjoy it just as much (especially with the awesomely cute hound, Bingo)
If you have a doodler, or a kid who likes geometrical shapes and patterns, then This is Not a Math Book is for you! There are over 30 fun and creative drawing activities that just so happen to have a subtle math spin. With a few drawing and math tools in tow, kids’ll be set to choose an activity. I can see this book coming in handy for the classroom or for homeschoolers. You can learn to make tessellations or fractals, and see how neat it is to create drawings with lots of circles and triangles.
I decided to try my hand at a little tessellation and I really enjoyed inventing a creature to match my shape. This book makes math entertaining and gives ample creation decisions to the reader.
Even as an adult I found the book fascinating. I also watched my kids spending a good amount of time on their creations, intent on making them just right. The instructions were easy to follow and could be used by most kids ages 8 and up. It’s helpful, too, that there’s a handy Table of Contents and Glossary if you’re looking for a particular activity.
Kudos to Weltman for coming up with this unique, hands-on math/drawing activity book that is sure to be a hit with children and parents alike.
Reviewed by Lucy Ravitch
Lucy Ravitch is the blogger behind KidsMathTeacher.com and author of The Pancake Menu: What will you order? An interactive book that lets kids practice math as they play restaurant, with free printable order sheets and play money on KidsMenuBooks.com. Lucy loves everything that makes math fun, and enjoys crafting and cooking books as well. She has a degree in Elementary Education and lives in Southern California with her family and cute, crazy dog.
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