Children’s author Valerie D. Johnson has written an engaging counting book titled 1 2 3 Count with Me on Granddad’s Farm. This heartwarming story about a family visiting the family farm is told through counting different things on the farm, starting with one farmhouse sitting on a hill. Then, as the family counts to ten, readers follow along and learn about life on a farm.

This excellent picture book has a lot to offer young readers. The first thing that stood out to me is the different levels of text, giving children of different ages the ability to read and grasp what is going on in the story. Each number is displayed in numerical form as well as spelled out. Next is a simple sentence that beginning readers can follow. After that is a longer explanation of what is happening in the story. This fantastic book can be read at all levels and still make sense. It is easy to follow the numbers and the illustrations done by Cee Biscoe read along without having to read each of the descriptive paragraphs. One example is on the page for number 6. “Six horses work on the farm. Can you find all six? count with me!” This is enough for children to understand the number and count along, but there is more information about horses, what they like to eat, and how to care for them. This layout allows the book to have greater educational use and keeps it interesting for a broader range of children.

1 2 3 Count with Me on Granddad’s Farm will encourage children to read and learn to count while learning about life on a farm creatively and actively. Counting along with the storyteller makes this an active reading children’s book rather than one they would just sit and listen to. At the end of this book, there are notes and discussion starters, as well as a dice counting page. These extra resources are invaluable to teachers and home educators to help turn this into a complete learning unit. This would make an excellent addition to a home or classroom library.

Pages: 32 | ASIN : B0B498WYW2