LET'S ADD UP!

8 + 2 becomes more than just numbers in this invitation to think outside the worksheet.

Here, as she did for shapes and for sounds in her previous entries in the Big, Little Concepts series, Allenby turns arithmetic into play—so objects in various groupings (5 drums plus 5 tambourines, 6 pots plus 4 pans, 8 cars plus 2 trucks) add up to 10. The further “addition” of as many children on the following spread also adds up to a concrete shared activity (5 drums plus 5 tambourines also adds up to a band, 6 pots plus 4 pans also makes a feast, and 8 cars plus 2 trucks results in a fun race). The children are diverse in terms of skin tone, dress, and hairstyle; one child uses a wheelchair, and one wears a hearing aid—all participate equally. The author supplies caregivers with further enrichment activities designed to stretch counting and classification skills at the end, and Zeng’s expressively posed children are having so much fun throughout that readers will jump at the chance to join in. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Teachers and parents can count on an enthusiastic response from younger audiences.