Sir Cumference and All the King's Tens

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9........

It's a Month of Math!

We’ve already introduced you to the Sir Cumference books so you know how clever we think they are!  Sir Cumference and the All the King’s Tens (A Math Adventure), by Cindy Neuschwander and illustrated by Wayne Geehar, is another delightful book for children and parents to enjoy.

In this book a celebration is planned for a gloomy King Arthur.  Counting the crowd who shows up for the celebration becomes overwhelming!  Through the problem solving activities and illustrations, the use of place value is explained.  We hope you enjoy this book like you did the others!

Question Collection:

*Can you think of some other ways to draw the crowd to illustrate place value?

*What are some other times large numbers of people need to be counted?

*What would you do for King Arthur’s celebration?

Too Many Kangaroo Things to Do

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9........

It's a Month of Math!

Too Many Kangaroo Things to Do, by Stuart Murphy and illustrated by Kevin O’Malley, is an engaging book for young children.  Children can learn some counting skills as they enjoy this story.  We especially like the Things to Do for Adults and Kids in the back of the story. 

Kangaroo tries to engage his friends in play because it’s his birthday, but the animals are all busy.  As he visits each group, he finds one emu doing 10 things, 2 platypus friends doing 20 things, 3 koalas doing 30 things, and 4 dingoes doing 40 things.  Of course, the book’s conclusion reveals why the animals were busy.  We won’t spoil the ending, but young children will have fun discovering the reason!  

Question Collection:

*Which animal was your favorite?

*How do you think the kangaroo felt during the story?  At the end?

*What would you do for Kangaroo’s birthday?

M & Ms Math!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9........

It's a Month of Math!

Today we’re reviewing two similar counting books both based on using M & Ms as counting tools.  The first one, The M & M’s Counting Book, by Barbara Barbieri McGrath and illustrated by Roger Glass, uses the candy pieces for counting and sets.  Younger children will have fun looking at all the ways they can group the colored candies.

The other book, More M & M’s Math, also by McGrath, develops more math skills such as estimating, graphing, adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing (with remainders, too). The review page at the book of the book is a quick reference for children to check what they’ve learned.

We hope you enjoy these math books paired with fun treats!  Enjoy!

Question Collection:

*What math skills did you learn today?

*Are there any other ways you could use math with M & Ms?

*Could you write a math story about a different type of food?

Domino Addition

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9........

It's a Month of Math!

One of the best ways to develop math skills is by using simple visual, tactile objects.  Domino Addition, by Lynnette Long, uses dominoes to teach number recognition, counting, and simple addition.  This is a great book to use with early learners along with a set of dominoes so that they can manipulate the tiles as they listen to the story.  Long does a terrific job of using a readily available game to extend learning.  One example of the way she teaches number recognition and counting is through the photographs of domino tiles arranged in a number (such as 4) and then asking the reader to find the dominoes that have 4 dots on it.  An answer key is given at the bottom of those pages.

If your child is beginning to add single digit numbers, this is a great book to use!

Question Collection:

*Can you arrange dominoes to make numerals?

*Can you make some addition facts with dominoes and write the equations for them?

*What did you learn from this book?

National Geographic Little Kids Ocean Counting

As children are being asked to read more nonfiction texts, it’s important to find books that capture their attention with interesting facts.  National Geographic Little Kids Ocean Counting, by Janet Lawler with photographs by Brian Skerry, is a great book for young children who are learning to count and who like ocean animals.  Primary readers will also enjoy the eye-catching photographs that accompany the text.

The reader counts to ten with examples of various ocean animals (hammerhead sharks, sea otters, pink sea star, etc.).  Each two page spread also includes a Did You Know? Box with an interesting fact about the animal.  At the conclusion of the book an Animal Facts section (home, size, food, predators, babies) are given about each animal.  A map and glossary are also included to extend learning.

This would be a great book to enjoy before and after a trip to an aquarium.  It would be fun for children to write their own counting book based on this book.  We hope you enjoy learning more about ocean animals!

Question Collection:

*Which ocean animal is your favorite?

*Can you name 5 facts you learned by reading this nonfiction text?

*What fact surprised you?

Peter Rabbit Lift-the-Flap Words, Colors and Numbers

Peter Rabbit Lift the Flap Words, Colors and Numbers, based on the original edition by Beatrix Potter, is an oversized board book that introduces young children to the story of Peter Rabbit.   A short part of Peter Rabbit’s story is told on the pages with an accompanying task (find the colors, etc.).   Its interactive features make the discovery of words, colors, and numbers fun as the flaps are opened to reveal the items listed in picture format.  We especially like that when the flap is opened, the word is also revealed, exposing children to written symbols for the colors and illustrations.  This is a fun book to add to your library!

Question Collection:

*What’s your favorite picture?

*Can you find Peter in each picture?

One to Ten...and back again

One to Ten…..and back again is a fun, interactive book that helps children visualize numbers in a creative way.  The board book has cut out handles on each page to help children turn the page as the story is read.  Black and white looped moving ribbons are imprinted with various insects to represent each number.  As the brightly illustrated pages are turned, the ribbons reveal the insects.  After one to ten is counted through the pages, directions are given to turn the book around and upside down, revealing a reverse countdown back to one.  This book’s colors and fun in turning the pages just invites children to count and have fun.  The descriptive adjectives and verbs also add to the reading quality and visualization.  As your child learns to write, this book is a great one to pull out and use as a mentor text.  One to Ten…and back again would make a great gift for children learning to count (and write)!  Have fun!

Question Collection:

*Which insect do you like best?

*Do you like this book counting up or counting down better?  Why?

*What’s your favorite word in this book?

One Little Penguin and His Friends

One Little Penguin and His Friends, illustrated by Claudine Gervy, lets your child push and turn durable board book slides to answer questions about various Arctic animals.  The answers pop or slide up in a counting pattern to reveal the answers.  The simply drawn animals are fun to view as children have fun interacting with the book to find the animals.  This book is a great tool to introduce facts about Arctic animals.  We’ve found this book to be very durable through the years with lots of pushing and turning the slides.  We think your children will enjoy this book too!

Question Collection:

*Which animal is your favorite?

*Which animals have you seen?

*What’s the funniest part of the book to you?

1-2-3peas

1-2-3peas, by Keith Baker, follows with the same kind of fun reading and illustrations that is found in LMNOpeas.  In this book the peas count to 10, then count to 100 by tens with a rhyming pattern.  This is an amusing book that children will enjoy.  It’s fun to see how the peas will be depicted on each page and to count along with them.

If your family enjoyed LMNOpeas we think you’ll enjoy this book also.  Have fun counting!

Question Collection:

*Which page is your favorite?

*Can you tell some rhyming words you heard in this book?

*What activity do you like best in this book?

Gobble Gobble Crash!

Gobble Gobble Crash! by Julie Steigmeyer, is one of my favorite read alouds!  The rhyming and cadence of the words just enhance the humorous tale of turkeys that crash into a sleepy farm.  Although not specifically a Thanksgiving book, it’s such a fun book to read about some hilarious turkeys!

 Gobble Gobble Crash! is also a counting book as counting numbers are used as the farm is described.   The word choice used by the author paints vivid pictures of the turkeys’ actions.  Children can cheer on the animals as they decide to help the turkeys from becoming the Farmer’s feast.  It is just a laugh out loud book that we hope you enjoy!

Question Collection:

*What’s the funniest part of the story to you?

*Can you find the turkeys that are hiding from the Farmer?

*Can you remember some of the rhyming words from the story?

Raindrop, Plop!

Raindrop, Plop!, by Wendy Cheyette Lewison, is a cheerful book about a little girl having fun in the rain.  Pam Paparone’s bright, colorful illustrations add to the enjoyment of the rhymes that use counting forward and backward to tell the story.  We also enjoy poring over each picture to point out the details.  Each time we read it there’s something new to discover in the illustrations.  What a fun book to read on a rainy day!

Question Collection:

*What do you like to do on rainy days?

*Is there anything in this book that reminds you of your house or yard?

*Do you remember what kinds of animals are in the book?