At the Edge of the Woods, A Counting Book ~ Picture Book & KID KANDY

At the Edge of the Woods, A Counting Book
By Cynthia Cotten
Illustrated by Reg Cartwright
(Henry Holt and Company, 2002)

What first attracted me to this book was the illustrations. They are vibrant, nature-based, colorful, and big! My next thought about checking out At the Edge of the Woods, A Counting Book was that this book is about nature, the woods, animals, and counting! Sounds like a perfect picture book to me.

At the Edge of the Woods, A Counting Book is written in rhyme. I can hear the singsong chant rhythm when I read the words. Numbers and number words are highlighted and featured on each page. Readers will enjoy counting up to ten and seeing what animals come next in the story. At ten, a big burly bear comes out from his lair, which leads to a countdown from ten as all the animals scatter away to hide.

Early readers and preschoolers will love At the Edge of the Woods, A Counting Book. I think even my grandson will enjoy it, though he is going to first grade and can count beyond 10. He loves to go camping, so this book will remind him that bears live in the woods and may sneak out while he is camping.

I suppose we shall have to discuss how bears most often stay far away from humans, unless they leave out tasty garbage and food. But it will be worth the talk to enjoy this book.

KID KANDY:

Counting and Singing Fun

Dig out 10 toy animals. They don't have to be forest animals. Hide all the animals under a dish towel. Bring out one at a time, counting animals as you go. How many do you have?

Play this counting game with a friend or sister or brother. Choose the scariest animal and make it be the last one to line up. Pretend that it scares all the other animals and they run away and hide! Count down from ten as they run away.

Now you can count from 1 to 10 and back down again.


You can also sing and count at the same time. Here are some silly songs to sing.


"One, Two, Buckle My Shoe"

"Five Little Ducks"

"Five Green and Speckled Frogs"

The Baker's Dozen, A Counting Book ~ Wacky Wednesday Picture Book & KID KANDY

The Baker's Dozen, A Counting Book
by Dan Andreasen
(Henry Holt and Company, 2007)

Everyone knows how many treats are in a baker's dozen, right?

Maybe not. It is sort of wacky that a dozen equals 13 when it is used to describe baked goods. Of course, I would love one more bakery treat than 12 when I purchase a baker's dozen - oh, let's say of donuts or cupcakes or brownies or anything full of calories and flavor!

The Baker's Dozen, A Counting Book, is full of examples of delicious bakery chef created delectables. Each page gives descriptive vocabulary words for special desserts and places the number of goods on that page in a prominent location. Every illustration shows the baker performing a baker's task as he prepares yummy mouthfuls of joy.

Food is important to me and desserts are special treats. Readers who appreciate baked goods and young children who are learning about numbers will enjoy counting their way through The Baker's Dozen, A Counting Book.

KID KANDY:

What is a Baker's Dozen?

Materials: egg carton, variety of counting objects

Help your child place one item in each egg section of a carton. Count the objects together. Trade objects and count something else. Discuss that 12 is called a dozen, but in the baking world a baker's dozen is 13.

Help your child figure out how to put 13 things in the carton and count them.

Play a counting game. Ask your child to close his eyes. Place either 12 or 13 objects in the carton. Tell your child to count the objects and tell you if it is a dozen or a baker's dozen. Repeat the game again and make sure you take a turn closing your eyes!

After you are done, go to the bakery and buy a baker's dozen of a special treat to share for dessert. Your child will surely remember baker's dozen after that!

Counting Crows ~ Wacky Wednesday Picture Book & KID KANDY

Counting Crows
by Kathi Appelt
illustrated by Rob Dunlavey
(Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2015)

Let's count some crows on this Wacky Wednesday. That's better than eating crow, right?

Counting Crows is a funny picture book about counting crows. The author, Kathi Appelt, creatively adds rhyme and tasty snacks for the crows being counted. The counting goes up to a dozen crows. Do you know how many crows are in a dozen? (Think a box of donuts.)

Counting Crows has very amusing illustrations as well. Thank you, Rob Dunlavey. The pages are filled with black, white, and red. Crows wear red and white striped sweaters. One crow is sporting a red and white polka dotted scarf, which becomes very important by the end of the story.

Readers will love to count the silly crows and find out what happens to make the crows disappear. Wacky Wednesday loves Counting Crows.

PS Do you know what eating crow means?

KID KANDY:

Count Crows

Summer is the perfect time to count crows. They are loud, big, black and everywhere! But don't expect to find them wearing red and white striped scarves.

Crows are very smart. As you count, watch to see if you can find them doing something clever. The crows in my neighborhood love to fly up high and drop walnuts on the asphalt road to break them open. Then the crows fly down and eat the nut meat. Pretty smart, huh?

One Child, One Seed, A South African Counting Book - Terrific Tuesday Picture Book & KID KANDY

One Child, One Seed, A South African Counting Book
Written by Kathryn Cave
Photographs by Gisele Wulfsohn
(Henry Holt and Company, 2002)

One Child, One Seed, A South African Counting Book is a beautifully photographed counting book based on children, families, and people in South Africa.

Nothando lives in South Africa with her aunt and grandmother. The story tells the tale of Nothando planting a pumpkin seed. Each subsequent page continues counting higher and higher and show many scenes in South Africa. Sidebars tell more about the lives of Nothando, her family, and her friends.

One Child, One Seed, A South African Counting Book is filled with interesting cultural information. A pumpkin seed graph, numbers, and number words are features in this picture book. Children who are learning to count will enjoy this book. Anyone who wants to learn more about other countries and the lives of other children will learn much from reading One Child, One Seed, A South African Counting Book.

KID KANDY:

Make a seed graph.

1. Find some seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, or other large seeds).

2. Print numbers 1-10 down the left side of a piece of paper.

3. Print the number words (or ask a parent or older sibling to help you) beside each number.

4. Place the correct number of seeds in a row beside each number.

5. Read your graph! Count the seeds, read the number words, and have fun sharing your graph.

big bug ~ Picture Book & KID KANDY

big bug
By Henry Cole
(Little Simon, 2014)

big bug is an adorable book that simply and smoothly shows the comparative sizes of things found in our world. The fun part is all in the perspective of the reader (and the author/illustrator).

What begins as a big ladybug suddenly becomes a little bug because it is on a big leaf. The big leaf becomes a small leaf when compared to a big flower. And so on goes the story in big bug, moving from smaller to larger items. Towards the end of the book, Henry Cole reverses directions and starts with a big thing (the sky) and shrinks items down to little things.

Young readers will love seeing how the little things become big and the big things become little. big bug is the perfect book for talking about sizes.

KID KANDY:

Get Outside - Find Big and Little Things

Can you find your own examples of big bug in your yard?

1. Find an object - spider, rock, leaf, toy, plant.

2. Find a bigger object - grass, flower bed, tree, sandbox, garden.

3. Label each as little and big. Little spider. Big rock.

4. Change perspective. Little rock. Big yard.


Have fun playing with sizes!

Ten Black Dots - Picture Book + KID KANDY Activity

Ten Black Dots
By Donald Crews
(Scholastic Inc., 1968)

Ten Black Dots is an oldie but a goodie.

This edition of Ten Black Dots is redesigned and revised (1986). Donald Crews has bold yet simple illustrations for this counting book.

Throughout the book, children are encouraged to consider things that can be made with black dots. Each number (and number word) are used in one or two different ways. Readers can and should add their own ideas for how the spots could be used. The end of the book shows a stair step chart from 1-10 using black dots.

Ten Black Dots is a nice picture book that ties in to kindergarten and preschool math concepts. Try it. You will like it.

KID KANDY:

Make your own black dot pictures.

~ Use paint or bingo daubers. You may need to make (any) color dot pictures. Or you could use a circle stamp on black ink, a round lid on black paint or ink, or a thumb print to make dots.

~ Brainstorm first. What do you want to make? You can use a pencil to sketch out your idea and then add dots.

~ Or do the opposite. Make a dot design first. Now what does it look like? Name your design.

~ Make a stair step chart like Donald Crews. Count the dots!


Angie Quantrell loves it when picture books can be used when teaching math concepts. She wonders how many good books about math are out there? The only way to find out is to start looking and counting. 1, 2, 3 - let's go!