Counting on Fall and Other Number Books

 My son is learning to read numbers, so we have been hunting down books with numbers in the titles and text. Here is a list and review of a few of them! 

Counting on Fall by Lizann Flatt 

This isn't your typical counting book. It poses questions about things you can count in nature, like leaves, nuts, fruits, seedpods, and animals who migrate, like whales and geese. When we couldn't possibly count something, we could talk about math using terms like "more" or "less" instead. It's a fun way of making things open-ended while encouraging little ones to stop and look around at nature during autumn while building number sense. This book was written and illustrated by two Canadians, so my son learned new animals including pronghorn antelopes, pikas, and grackles. There are other books in this Math in Nature series, Sorting through Spring, Sizing Up in Winter, and Shaping Up in Summer.

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox

Mem Fox is a well-known picture book author. Her books feature text that is simple to read and often repetitive. This one has a special message that as much as we are different, we are alike. It is a neat way to subtly show children that our backgrounds may vary, but we are all humans. Here is a simple (free) number writing activity I made:

Two Peas in a Pod by Annegert Fuschuber

We chose this partly because of the title and partly because I have two daughters who were born on the same day. We are working on reading numbers and my son also finds it fun to read about twins. It teaches two facts about each animal - how many babies they have, and something special about them. I made a free printable for you to use with or without the book. It helps with reading a simple chart.

This one is similar to a counting book we recently read about the Blue Ridge Mountains (see below for the link). Both books include animals and the number of babies they typically have, counting from 1-10 (and beyond in this book). The theme here, like in Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, is that sometimes babies may look alike, but there are ways to tell them apart and celebrate them as individuals. It was originally written in Austria and now appears to be out of print. 

Cowgirl Rosie and Her Five Baby Bison

This book is great for PreK and K students. If you're working on the letter B, Rosie's five baby bison have letter B names. She takes them on an adventure and then loses one or two each time. Like Two Peas in a Pod, there are twins in this book! Them being twins doesn't affect the plot, other than them getting lost at the same time, while the singletons disappeared individually. My son and I enjoyed subtracting and saying number sentences that went along with what was happening on the pages. Download the free activity printables here.

Sixteen Cows by Lisa Wheeler

This one is a good one to pair with the one above. It's a great lesson in cooperation and a fun way to do some math.

One of Each by Mary Ann Hoberman

Olive Tolliver is an introvert who prefers to spend his time alone, but he comes to realize life can be a bit lonely when there's no place for friends. Peggoty Small shows him a different perspective and realizes that sharing is caring.

Three Pigs, One Wolf, and Seven Magic Shapes by Grace Maccarone

This book was so much fun for my son. We've been doing a shape hunt Google Slide book and this helped us wrap it up. He has been into making images out of shapes ever since he was given the Melissa and Doug shape puzzles and then he discovered my pattern block design cards, which added more shapes beyond the squares, ovals, rectangles, and triangles from the M & D kit. What we liked most was the tangram twist on The Three Little Pigs as the Big Bad Wolf has a twin brother named Big Brad Wolf. We are all about twins in our family as I am one and I have a set, too. 

Grab the free tangram tracing and drawing printables here.

Ten Pigs: An Epic Bath Adventure by Derek Anderson

This is a nice easy read when you're working on sight words and numbers. My son laughs out loud at the silly pigs and easy rhymes.

Here is the read aloud.

Five Little Penguins Slipping on the Ice by Steve Metzger

This book follows the plot of Five Little Monkeys. It varies a bit in that it has different rhyming lines, but it's repetitive enough for a young reader to predict or read what comes next.

Here is the read aloud video.

See full posts on other number books:

Fourteen Monkeys: A Rainforest Rhyme

Blue Ridge Babies 1, 2, 3: A Counting Book

13 Days of Halloween (and other Halloween books like Six Creepy Sheep)

 Ten Orange Pumpkins

20 Hungry Piggies

Fraturtles and Other Books About Twins

I am a twin. People think my girls are twins, and sometimes it's easier to go along with than using the term "surviving triplets" all the time. Anyway, they are fraternals just like me and my twin. They look just like me and my twin, too! Their personalities are flipped from ours, though. Anyway, my son was a few months shy of 3 and books we got for him (and them in the future) refer to twins. We've really enjoyed many of them and wanted to share in case you're having multiples.

Fraturtles by Keith Greenstein

The book listing puts it best: "'How come fraternal twins are called twins when they don't look alike?" That's the most common question fraternals ask (and are asked) when they're young. Not only does Fraturtles answer that question, but it does so through a fun, easy-to-understand story about a twin who comes to realize that having a twin isn't about sharing their looks. It's about sharing their lives.'"

God Gave Us Two by Lisa Dawn Bergren

I don't consider myself a religious person, and although this book repeats its title as a phrase often, I also don't consider it to be a religious book either. Much like the book that it comes after (God Gave Us You), you will feel all warm and fuzzy inside while reading it. Spoiler alert: much like our next book, we find out in the end that the parents are expecting multiples. If you have a slightly older younger child, it's a great way to spill the beans! I think it's way more fun with the printed book, but you can check out a read aloud video here.

Big Brother Peanut Butter by Terry Border

I grabbed this one right before my girls came and we loved the theme! Kids often worry about being a good big sibling, and this one was funny and cute. My son loves food too, so it was great to see foods being used to send a message that loving each other is the most important thing family members can do. Watch a read aloud here.

A Twin is to Hug by Boni Ashburn

This one is a quick and easy read. My three year old was able to read some of it to his sisters and he was so proud! I wish we had this on our baby registry before they were born because it would have helped him understand a little more about what to expect. He handled it well, but sometimes two years olds are centered on how hard it is to share parents and toys with their new sibling(s). This book does a good job of showing that it's hard for the twins to have to share everything (and everyone) with each other! Here it is being read aloud on video.

She's My Twin Sister by Lola Adebayo

Written by a British Nigerian author about her own twin daughters, this story tells how Amel and Amira are similar, but different. This is a common twin book theme! There is an attempt to rhyme, which sort of works despite the rhythm being off. It's out of print, so you'll need to track down a used copy or watch the read aloud video here. You can also find another book called That's My New Friend, which was also written about her girls.

Twintuition series by Tia and Tamera Mowery

I grew up watching their TV series Sister, Sister and naturally I was curious about their new books. I bought them for my niece, who is my twin's daughter, since she thought it was so cool we have more than one set of multiples in the family. My great aunt and great uncle are twins, as are my husband's aunt and uncle. Anyway, I haven't read them yet, but she gave them the thumbs up and something tells me they will be passed down to my girls when they're older. Did you know their little brother was an actor on Full House?

Twins: A Graphic Novel by Varian Johnson

I snagged this one from Scholastic for my niece, who loves that her mom and I are twins. At her age, graphic novels are super popular and she grabbed this one from the stack first. It's about finding your place in middle school and in life as a twin. It's great for kids who aren't twins, too, because it teaches them that it's okay to have different interests than those you are friends with.

The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley

Speaking of Full House, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen had a book series when they were younger. Solve mysteries with the sisters as they travel. These books are no longer in print, so snag them where you can! 

Sweet Valley Twins series by Francine Pascal

This one was a favorite of me and my twin when we were middle schoolers. Jessica and Elizabeth are exact opposites, despite being identical twins. It was set in the 1980s and 1990s, but kids today can still relate to a lot of situations they found themselves in. There's also a series for older kids that is set when the girls were in high school, and a TV series was even created later. As you can imagine, you've got to track down used copies.

Check out other twin books I've posted about here.

Do you know of more twin books you'd like to recommend? Please leave a comment below!

Blue Ridge Babies 1, 2, 3: A (Non-babyish) Counting Book

My son and I were perusing the library shelves after story time and we came across a book titled Blue Ridge Babies 1, 2, 3. It had a cute cover and we have been working on addition, subtracting, and counting as well as reading number words, so I decided to look it over. Seeing the cute pictures and words were written in word form meant it went into our large check out pile. When I got it home, it was so much more than a book to read with my preschooler! 

Buy the Book  or watch the  Video

For those of you homeschooling, or teaching PreK-3, this book has so much to offer, including a song! I made a printable activity that I did with my son, and here is what we covered.

Click the images above or here to download.

If I was using this with my fourth grade class, we would locate the Blue Ridge on Google Earth. I'd ask, "Where else might a biome like this be found in America? Where might it be found in the rest of the world?" Then we would make our own books for other biomes.

Snag a free book template by clicking the image below or here. It's editable, so you can share a copy on Google Classroom, via email, or even adapt and print a copy for students to write and draw on.

Learn more about the writing, illustrating, and publishing process this book went through here:

 https://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2021/04/22/book-giveaway-blue-ridge-babies-1-2-3-a-counting-book-by-laura-sperry-gardner/

This is the Pumpkin, and Even More Halloween Books

This is the Pumpkin by Abby Levine is a new favorite Halloween book! 

Told in verse, the story of Max's Happy Halloween Day unfolds as he dresses in his scary green costume, goes to a party at school, carves pumpkins at home, and finally gets to walk around the neighborhood saying "Trick or Treat" and collecting candy.

What makes it great for a read aloud is that every couple of pages, it repeats lines and adds to it.***  What makes it a great lap book is that a new reader can start each set of lines by reading, "This is...."

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat by Lucille Colandro is one of them!

My son loves this series. We read all the books, buy them when we see them, and even watch them on video. 

***Books written in similar style with choral rhyme include

The House that George Built

There Was an Old Lady series

Bear Stays Up for Christmas

Good Night Goon  by Michael Rex 

is pretty awesome if you like the book it parodies, Good Night Moon. It's got claws and jaws and hats and bats! You can watch it on video, but your child may want a copy of their own. We read it year round, and my son is a scaredy cat who still loves it!

Trick-or-Treat, Smell My Feet! by Lisa Desimini

What a surprise we had when we saw this book included twin sisters Delia and Ophelia! The two sneaky sisters perform a spell with the help of stolen stinky socks, and the neighborhood kids are denied their precious trick-or-treat candy when all they can say is, "Smell my feet!" Read the book yourself or watch the read aloud video to see if Halloween is saved!

Trick-or-Treat on Milton Street by Lisa Bullard

This story has a heartwarming ending! Charley's mom is sick on Halloween, so he has to spend his first Halloween in his new house in an unfamiliar neighborhood with his embarrassing stepdad. He wishes he had friends nearby to trick-or-treat with because he imagines the old people in his neighborhood wanting to carve green peppers, losing their dentures while bobbing for apples, and giving out vegetables as treats. Charley notices some familiar voices in the costumed adults he visits, and ends up with a nice surprise at the end. His only question is why Dave didn't dress up, aside from his goofy hat. His response? "It's the same one my dad wore when he took me out to trick-or-treat on Milton Street. I thought the best costume I could wear tonight was to dress up like a dad." <3

Pete the Cat: Trick-or-Pete by James Dean

We own the paperback version of this book and love it, but the board book one with flaps to lift is even more fun! We are big fans of Pete the Cat in our house, and we even have a daughter named Callie. She loves hearing her name in stories, so she loved this one. Our son Austin is a big Halloween fan, but also a bit nervous about the scary side of it. This book helps him remember that there are people wearing the costumes, and usually it's someone he knows! Here is is in read-aloud form.

Check out more Halloween posts here.

One Monday, and Other Days of the Week Books

Today is Monday. That's both a true fact and the name of an Eric Carle book about the days of the week and food. If only getting toddlers to eat was as easy as getting them to sing along with this book!

Snag this free tracing printable here or by clicking the image above.

Here is the read aloud set to music!

We also read One Monday by Amy Huntington.

We are learning to read and write numbers and days of the week, so this book was perfect for that. We see what Annabelle goes through on one week of interesting weather at her home. If you can't grab a copy of the book, here is the read aloud.

We also spent some time last week learning about biomes, including mountains and rainforest, so I added a drawing page for this story's setting, a farm. 

My son has had a good grasp of  "real and make believe" for quite some time now, but I want him to start using the words "reality and fantasy," so I created an activity for that using events in the story (which can be a bit confusing in the book, so I used slightly more clear words here). 

Grab a free printable here, or click the images above.

We'd love to know... What did you think would happen the next Monday? Please leave us a comment below!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

This book is an all-time children's favorite. Despite the idea of a caterpillar actually eating the foods listed in the book, the days of the week format is a winner for kids. There are so many printables!

Here is a read aloud video by Eric himself.

When is Saturday? by Deborah Kovacs features the Sesame Street Muppets.

This is another oldie, but goodie that you may have to buy used or check out the read aloud here. Grover is very impatient when he hears from his mother that Uncle Georgie will be coming to visit in a week. She helps him create a calendar countdown and keep busy until his uncle arrives. 

Here is the poem that Grover writes to recite the days of the week.

Listen to a few of our favorite days of the week songs!

Have you ever used Live Worksheets? Kids can do this cool live days of the week word search and send their results to their teacher. If your classroom is paperless, this is a great resource. What's great about it is that some of the already created activities can be done in different languages.

Here is a Google Search for days of the week activities!

Pop-Up Books

Who doesn't love a good pop-up book? They make reading fun for kids and adults! We are going to share some of our favorites as well as some sites to learn how to make your own.

 I Will Never, Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child

We LOVE this one. My son wasn't great about eating vegetables as a 6 month old, and we came across this book by accident as it was part of a box of books I randomly bought. It turned out to be one of our all- time favorites and our son also turned out to be an excellent eater! I highly recommend the book, pop-up version or not!

Check out the pop-up engineering video here.

Listen to the pop-up read aloud here.

Check out the TV show episode here.

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The Color Monster by Anna Llenas

This book is great! Like the Little Spot books and others that are similar, emotions are identified by colors. The pop-ups here are creative and adorable. My son loves interacting with them and my daughters can't wait to get their hands on this fiercely protected book! The price for this version is not quite double the price of a regular paperback, but for us it was worth it. 

Here is a read aloud video showing the pop-ups.

Yellow (happiness)

Green (calm)

Blue (sadness)

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This Book is a Planetarium by Kelli Anderson

It's actually many different things - a planetarium, a speaker, an instrument ,a decoder, a calendar, a spiralgraph.... Most of all, it's fun. I can see this being used for travel especially. I imagine my son using in on long car rides, in hotels, and on planes once we start going longer distances from home again. Kelli has thought of it all!

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The Star Spangled Banner by Calvert Gamwell

This one is cute, and a nice and easy way to introduce the National Anthem of the United States. It's currently out of print, so you'll have to snag a used copy. Its pop-ups aren't anything too fancy, but they do show different ways and places people can be patriotic.

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Auntie Annie has free basic printable pop-up cards. With the ability to print in color or black and white and picture directions, this is a great place to get started with making your own pop-ups.

Best Pop-Up Books has it all! From tutorials to a forum to book lists and even some freebies, you can find whatever it is you're looking for here. Paper engineering is a great skill to have to introduce kids into design and the engineering process. It's also a fun way to spice up projects you may assign students.