Counting at the Zoo
From the Set Counting Around Town
Zoos are full of exciting animals--and opportunities to count! In this motivating book, readers are taken on a journey through a zoo's gates and into the exhibits to practice their number skills. They'll see their favorite zoo animals in the lively and colorful photographs. The stunning images provide visual clues as they read the achievable, at-level text. The high-interest setting and colorful creatures are a motivating tool to engage young readers hoping to hone their number sense and reading fluency.
SLJ Review of Counting Around Town
Counting around the community is encouraged in this highly visual series. In Counting at the Game, a fictional girl counts to ten at a football game, and the photos supporting the text include numerical labels to help identify things like the end zone. Kids enjoy a climbing wall, seesaws, swings, and more in Counting at the Playground. Each spread includes no more than two sentences with a repetitive sentence structure and the use of high-frequency words. Bright photos support the text with context clues. The simple, clean layouts and interesting subject matter make this a fine series for classroom collections. School and public libraries whose budgets are tight as the year draws to a close may want to cherry-pick the animal-focused titles, which will no doubt see the highest circulation. VERDICT: Counting at the Aquarium and Counting at the Zoo are first purchases for sure; buy the remaining titles if you can swing it.