Sam sorts

by Marthe Jocelyn

age range: 3 to 6 years old

Tundra Books

Sam's bedroom is a complete mess. It is time to clean it up. Sam begins to sort all his stuff to put it away, and he discovers there are so many ways of sorting things! Like in many other sorting books Sam sorts by shape, color, type and function. But what I loved about this book is that Sam dares to go beyond and he sorts his stuff in original and creative ways: things that come in pairs, things whose names rhyme, things with dots, holes, stripes or checks, soft, bumpy, fuzzy, noisy, pointy, smelly. No, that's not all. There are thing that float, and things that fly. Wait. Actually there are things that fly with wings, and things that fly without wings. Even things with wings that do not fly! The outcome is that Sam's stuff is still in a pile, but he has learned a lot of things, and had a lot of fun.

The pictures are wonderful. The complete book is a huge collage in different colors and textures. The author uses Venn diagrams in such a natural way as part of the story, no explanation is needed. But not all the objects are sorted using Venn diagrams, some times different color backgrounds, or even a rainbow or a pac-man "screen" do the trick. I was happily surprised by this book. A decided 5 stars. 

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Counting with barefoot critters

text and illustrations by Teagan White

age range: 3 to 6 years old

Tundra books

Some activities, like a quiet reading, is perfect for one barefoot critter. Cooking pancakes is great for a pair. But a race is better with five, and nine is the best number to play in the fort. And what about when crossing the dark spooky forest? Better if the whole dozen of them is there, so there is nothing to be scared of!

Counting with barefoot critters is a counting book in beautiful rhymed prose and full of cute illustrations. At the beginning for the book there is a amazing map to follow the critters adventures. It is a great option for a read aloud time. I'm interested in read a previous book in this series, Adventures with barefoot critters, which plays with the letters and seasons.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Outdoor math

by Emma AdBåge

age range: 3 to 6

Outdoor math it's a funny guide to "play math" outside taking advantage of what the different seasons offer us. The activities are diverse: worm measuring, cloud counting, tic tac toe, make shapes with a rope, estimate number of pine cones in a pile, place little "backyard treasures" in a grid with coordinates, bowling with bottles, one-minute challenges and more. What about making a snowman on a wagon, bring it inside the house, and see how long it takes for it to melt? That has to be a lot of fun! At least for kids. Not sure about their parents...

Most of the tasks call for counting, estimating, measuring, using a watch or stopwatch, and can be done without any special equipment or too much planning.

I'm a big fan of outdoor activities, screen-free entertainment, and science fun, and this book has all of it. I have a little issue with the writing since it is too simplistic to be a guide for grown ups (parents, teachers, etc.), but it's not easy enough for children in the age range it is addressed. It's not a big deal. In the overall it's a good book.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Two mice

by Sergio Ruzzier

Age range: 2 to 5 years old.

This little book tells the adventures of two little mice constantly counting up to 3, and then counting down to 1 again.

The text is predictable enough to allow the kids to count and guess the number before you say it, encouraging the interaction.

The illustrations, by Ruzzier too, are really nice and tell by themselves the rest of the story.

Not a typical counting book, but an enjoyable one!

Have you seen my dragon?

by Steve Light

Age range: up to 6 years old.

The poor kid has lost his dragon, and he will look for it along the book. The reader has the chance of help him find the dragon disguised in the black and white illustrations. At the same time the reader can count up to 20 the few colored objects in each page.

My kids favorite part was the map when you can follow the dragon and the boy's route.

We read this book a hundred times in the last week. It instantly became a favorite!

The big fat counting book

by Harris Tobias

illustrations by Brianne Burnell

I liked many thing about this book. The text is smart. This probably sounds weird since it's just a counting book with animals from 1 to 10 in each page. So, what's so smart about the text? It is written using funny alliterative words: "Five flabby flamingos". It transmits the idea of the richness of the language using 10 different ways to say "big/fat". The book is full of words like tubby, overstuffed, saggy, tremendous, stout, and more.

The illustrations are lovely. The pages are full of these rounded, colorful animals you can put the finger on to count them!

The big fat counting book is a 5 stars to me.

Age range: up to 5 years old.

I received this copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. You can visit Mr. Tobias in his blog or take a look at more of his books here.

None the number. A counting adventure.

Review:

by Oliver Jeffers

Some time ago, my 4 year old son proudly showed me how he could make 6 adding 3+3, and 2+2+2. I showed him we could do 5+1 and 4+2 too. Then he realized we could make 1+2+3 and 1+1+4! I was so excited I decided to push him a little further and showed him we could make 6+0=6! His smile faded from his face all of a sudden, and very serious he told me "Mom, zero is not a number!". When I came across this book I knew it was perfect for him.

This is an original counting book.  Forget about counting conventional things like apples, butterflies or candy corn. The kids will not only count up to ten, but they will play with the concept of the "none", or zero. Though the word "zero" is never used in the story.

The Hueys are hilarious. The illustrations are simple but funny. This is my first Hueys' book but I'll check more out for sure.



Age range 4 to 6 years old.