Combine math and reading with these 10 must-have counting books. Counting books can help your child learn about numbers while boosting literacy skills; however, a good counting book isn't just a combination of illustrations and numbers. Good ones have stories, draw readers in, and make them want to read the book over and over again. These 10 books are all great examples of how numbers and words can combine to make a great book.
1. Anno's Counting Book, by Mitsumasa Anno, is a text-free book that naturally inspires readers to count and create stories about the numbers they find. Numbers are displayed on each page and readers can play detective trying to figure them out.
2. My Granny Went to Market, by Stella Blackstone, is a great book that adds a multicultural spin on a counting book.
3. Doggies, by Sandra Boynton, is such a fun book you will forget you are counting as you bark along with all the dogs. Toddlers adore it.
4. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle, gives readers a chance to count all the things that caterpillar ate. In addition to that, it teaches about nutrition and, of course, the lifecycle of a butterfly.
5. Ten Black Dots, by Donald Crews, promotes counting as well as creativity in this deceptively simple book.
6. On the Launch Pad: A Counting Book About Rockets, by Michael Dahl, has a fun space theme along with multiple ways to represent each number on every page.
7. Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count On, by Lois Ehlert, combines bright colors, cool cut-outs, and the power of anticipation to keep kids reading and counting from cover to cover.
8. Ten Little Ladybugs, by Melanie Gerth, is an interactive counting book that lets children explore textures and touch the ladybugs as they count them.
9. Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin, by Lloyd Moss, has great illustrations and an incredible rhyming text that teaches readers about musical instruments as well as counting.
10. One, by Kathryn Otoshi, proves that a counting book can be filled with a great lesson about bullying as well as a lesson about numbers.
Does your child have a favorite counting book? Share the title with us on the Scholastic Parents Facebook page.
