FUN WITH NUMBERS AND COUNTING

Whether you are sending kids off to preschool, or will have them home with you, these books make counting and numbers fun for children ages 4-8.  (Some are even fine for little ones 2 and up.)  Summer is drawing to a close - it's time to get those little brains thinking and math juices flowing!

COUNTING:

Anno's Counting Book by Mitsumasa Anno (ages 4-8).  Beautiful watercolors on pages full of symmetry and things to be counted.

Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar by Masaichiro and Mitsumasa Anno - father/daughter authors/illustrators.  Again, gorgeous watercolors - this time with factorials on each page.

Anno's Counting House by Mitsumasa Anno (ages 4-8).  In this book of counting, children will be introduced to algebraic concepts, as they practice all the combinations of numbers that add up to 10.

Count! by Denise Fleming (ages 2-6)  Young children will enjoy the brightly colored animals, as they count them from 1-10 and then by 10's to 50.

Counting Wildflowers by Bruce Mcmillan (ages 4-8).  Number concepts from 1-20 are shown in beautiful and colorful photographs of wildflowers (which are captioned to identify the common name of the flowers.)

Each Orange Had 8 Slices by Paul Giganti (ages 4-8).  This book is a great introduction to mathematics!  Kids will have fun using patterning, multiplication, and creative thinking!

Roar!: A Noisy Counting Book by Pamela Duncan Edwards, illustrations by Henry Cole (ages 2-7).  A lion cub in Africa is looking for someone to play with, but the animals are afraid of him.  Fun rhyming text and cute pictures in this counting book.

Splash!  by Ann Jonas (ages 3-8)  A simple story that helps kids see the results of adding and subtracting as creatures enter and leave a backyard pond.

BACKWARDS COUNTDOWN:

Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang (ages 2-6).  A bedtime counting book, in which a father and daughter do a backwards countdown to bedtime.

The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins (ages 4-8).  A plateful of cookies begins to disappear, each time the doorbells rings and visitors arrive.

NUMBER RECOGNITION:

Arlene Alda's 1 2 3: What Do You See? (ages 4-8).  In this counting book, each number is shown in whimsical color photographs.

City by Numbers by Stephen T. Johnson (ages 4-8).  Wordless book, with photo-realistic paintings of hidden numbers in city scenes.

Look Whooo's Counting by Suse MacDonald (ages 4-8).  Cut-paper illustrations, with numbers incorporated into the pictures and added to an owl's wings.

These books were recommended on http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/book-themes.htm.  It's a good website that has lots of crafts, activities, and recipes for use by parents and teachers of preschoolers.  Books and activities are arranged by theme.