Help Me Learn Numbers 0-20

Marzollo and Phillips team up for an idiosyncratic and eye-catching counting book featuring photographic compositions of miscellaneous objects including vintage toy cars, Dalmatian figurines, and rubber finger-puppet monsters. In one spread, 10 glass animals are clustered atop white steps, while the verse hints at the answer: "One poodle, four swans, / five mice, and when.../ you count all the animals, / you'll get to ___ (ten)." The playful displays suggest that number sense isn't just a classroom tool, but a way in which to explore and engage with one's environment. Ages 35. (Sept.) Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

PreS-Gr 2--Using the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics, Marzollo has created a fun way for children to learn these numbers. Youngsters listen to the rhyme and then supply the correct number for the verse. They will need to count the objects depicted in order to get the correct answer, which is displayed in the upper corner of each page. Rhymes for the lower numbers are easier to solve than those in the teens. The poem for the number two reads, "Oink! Oink!/Who are you?/How many piggies?/I count ____(two)." The illustrations feature two porcelain pigs. For the number 18, the objects are small peg people embedded in wooden blocks. Not only are they harder to discern in the picture, but the rhyme is also more difficult. "Yellow, red, /blue, and green./How many people in boats? _____ (eighteen)." Most of the clear and bright illustrations are photographs of antique and vintage figurines of animals, people, and monsters. This book will be useful in different learning situations for both parents and educators.--Wendy Woodfill, Hennepin County Library, Minnetonka, MN

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Using the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics, Marzollohas created a fun way for children to learn these numbers. "