We greatly enjoyed Roseanne Thong's other two books, Round as a Mooncake and Red as a Dragon, which taught shapes and colors, respectively. Thus, it's no surprise that we are thrilled with this latest book that focuses on numbers.

About the Book
This is a 28 page hardcover book that teaches readers about numbers from 1-10. Each two page spread shows a child or group of children enjoying an activity while the accompanying text is a rhyming quatrain that focuses on a number from 1-10.

For instance, one of my favorites is the one of 9 children in colorful swimsuits playing on a bright green lawn and jumping in and out of a sprinkler's spray. The text reads:

Nine colored swimsuits
Nine pairs of feet
Nine are the children
escaping the heat.

Each two page spread is vividly depicted with bold colors and illustrates the number being featured in at least 1-2 different ways.

One of the innovative features of this book is that Thong uses both Chinese and American items to teach numbers. The drummer in the title of the book is referring to the dragon boat's drummer who sets the beat for rowing. Other items include mahjong, fish balls (it's ground fish that's reformed into a ball and enjoyed as a savory snack--not something most Americans have probably ever seen before), and bamboo.

I picked up this book because I'm a huge fan of Grace Lin's art and she illustrated this book. The illustrations are gouache and boldly colored. She uses lots of red, gold, green and blue. I also appreciate how she features a diverse group of children in her pictures. African American, Asian American, and Latino (though possibly Native American).

Our experience
My 22 month old daughter really likes this book. The rhyme has a bouncy beat to it and the pictures capture her attention. She likes to point out things like the dragon boat, the watermelon (it's in the same spread as the 5 fish balls on a stick!), and the birthday cake.

What I enjoy most is the "movement" or action in each spread and the lighthearted joy of the illustrations. Another one of my favorite scenes is the one of three Asian women pushing dim sum carts in a Chinese restaurant. The text reads:

Three are the steamers
Three are the buns
Three are the egg tarts--
here they come!

You see a small Asian girl surrounded by three Asian women with dim sum carts (each cart containing a different item) in a semi-circle around her. It's almost like it's a choreographed dance! Other scenes show kids climbing a tree, kids riding horses on a carousel, and ten children in a conga line jumping on stepping stones.

I enjoy this book and don't mind reading it countless times to her. It's a fun read and keeps my attention. We had to return it to the library Bookmobile this past week, so I'm planning to order this for our personal library! I truly appreciate being able to take an "extended test drive" when we borrow books from our library.

I strongly recommend it to other parents looking for a colorful and innovative way to teach a toddler about numbers.

Special thanks to arianej for adding this to the database for me!

This is also my seventh entry in laurashrti's National Library Week Write-Off 2008.


Recommended: Yes