Stack the Cats

Title:   Stack the Cats
Author:   Susie Ghahremani
Series:   —
Recommended for:   toddlers and preschoolers as a readaloud and counting book, early elementary school students because it’s a fairly early reader and teaches alternate ways to organize sets
Pages:   32 pages
Call Number/Link:  E GHAHREMANI, S.

Rating:   ****

 

 

Synopsis:

Cats of all shapes and sizes scamper, yawn, and stretch across the pages of this playful counting book. And every now and then, some of them pile into the purrfect cat stack!

Comments:

This is such a cute book!  The cats are adorable and remind me a little of my hero Pusheen.  The bold, colorful illustrations could work well with a group of children.

It makes me happy that the book works on more than one level.  For toddlers, it is a book with cute cats having fun.  For preschoolers, it is also a counting book.  There is also slightly trickier math for the early elementary school students when sets are regrouped (or divided).  This happens when 6 cats are divided into two groups of 3 cats and 9 cats are divided into three groups of 3 cats.

 

 

Plant the Tiny Seed

Title:   Plant the Tiny Seed
Author:   Christie Matheson
Series:   —
Recommended for:  children ages 6 and under
Pages:    32 p.
Call Number/Link:  E MATHESON, C.

Rating:   *** 1/2

 

 
Synopsis:

“Plant a seed to watch it grow. Press on the cloud to make it rain. Jiggle the book to scatter the seeds. Interactive text teaches very young children how flowers sprout and mature. Contains watercolor depictions of a flower in various stages of growth” – – provided by publisher.

 

Comments:

Cute gardening book for young children.  Interactive, like the author’s book Tap the Magic Tree.

Great for preschool storytimes with gardening or spring theme.  Could also use for a bee or butterfly storytime.  It could also work for Toddler Time if the children in attendance skew a little older and wouldn’t be too confused by the interactive aspect of the book.

Would work well for one-on-one reading to toddlers and up.

 

 

 

Is That Wise, Pig?

Title:   Is That Wise, Pig?
Author:   Jan Thomas
Series:   —  
Recommended for:  preschoolers, grades K-2, toddlers
Pages:   32
Call Number/Link:  E Thomas, J.

Rating:   ****

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Cow and Pig are helping Mouse make a delicious soup, but Pig keeps trying to add ingredients that don’t make sense! Mouse is making a yummy pot of soup and Cow and Pig are helping add ingredients. Mouse adds four tomatoes, Cow adds five potatoes, and Pig adds…six galoshes?! Is that wise, Pig? Young readers will be so busy giggling at Pig’s antics, they won’t even realize they are counting, too. A twist ending and irresistible characters will make this a favorite read-aloud.

Comments:

I loved this one.  It made me laugh!  It would work well for Preschool Storytime or Toddler Time.  It could also work well as a readaloud for kids in kindergarten and first grade.  (And for first and second graders to read on their own.)

I was having so much fun that I didn’t remember later that it was a counting book.

 

 

 

 

 

**mostly written in October 2016

 

 

Counting Ovejas

Title:   Counting Ovejas
Author:   Sarah Weeks
Illustrator:  David Diaz
Recommended for:  Preschool and early elementary students, either in their native language or a language they are learning.   Students of any age who are beginning to learn English or Spanish.
Pages:   32 pages
Call Number/Link:  SPA E WEEKS, S.

Rating:    ****

 

 

Synopsis:

When increasing numbers of sheep in a rainbow of colors appear in a boy’s bedroom as he tries to fall asleep, he must resort to more and more elaborate means of removing them. What do you do when you can’t sleep? Count sheep in Spanish and English, of course! But what happens when those rascally sheep get a little too close for comfort? Well, if you’re anything like the sleepy little hero in this clever tale, you might just tire yourself out trying to get rid of them!

Comments:

I love this book for a few reasons.  It is bilingual.  The author provided a pronunciation guide under each sentence in Spanish.  It is both a color book and a counting book.  And the illustrations are cute, especially the sheep.

It can be read to children just for fun OR to help them learn a new language.  (Adults and teens are more likely to read it to learn basic vocabulary in their second language – it’s always good to know colors and numbers!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cuantos Animales?

Title:   Cuantos Animales?
Author:   Anna Laura Cantone
Series:   not applicable
Recommended for:   People who want to help children learn to count to ten and don’t mind that the book is in cursive
Pages:   22 pages
Call Number/Link:   SPA E TINY CANTONE, A.

Rating:   **

Synopsis:

Enseña a los niños a contar con ilustraciones de animales.  (Translation:  Teaches children how to count with illustrations of animals.)

Comments:

My first reaction was…  what a cute counting book!  It’s even better that it’s in Spanish!  Then I noticed that they wrote the words for the numbers and animals in cursive.  Arrrrrrrrgh!

It’s difficult to teach a child the correlation between the numeral, number of objects in the illustration and the number’s written form when they can’t read the words because they’re in cursive.

Parents and teachers could still read this book to children to help them learn to count to ten,  However, some people might consider the book less useful since it doesn’t help the child match the numeral with the written form of the number.