Eric Carle's 123

Carle, E. (2009). Eric Carle's 123. New York: Grosset & Dunlap.

Genre: Counting Book
Format: Picture Book
Age Recommendation: 1-5 years

A compilation of Eric Carle's past illustrations, Eric Carle's 1, 2, 3 provides the bare basics when it comes to learning to count. Providing a two-page spread for each number 1-10, each number is both spelled out and represented numerically, as well as accompanied by a classic illustration of an animal. Also accompanying the number are the colored dots in the top left-hand corner, allowing children many different visual representations of the featured number. As children move forward with each new number, a brand new animal is added to a line formed at the bottom of the page. Beginning with the tallest animal, the giraffe, children will love Carle's classic artwork as they continue to discover the elephant, bear, hippo, pig, dog, squirrel, turtle, chick, and caterpillar. The best part of the book comes at the end, where a pull-tab acts as a flip book of each number so children can count along. Given the simplicity of the book, I would recommend this book for children ages 1-5, as they are just beginning to develop language and learn concepts such as counting. The fact that the book provides several different methods by which children can learn to count is indeed a plus as well: some will count the animals, some the dots, and some will simply recognize the number or spelling of the word. This is a great starter book for infants and toddlers, and I highly recommend it as a tool for parents, teachers, and librarians.

*Note: No review could be found for this book.