Anno's Counting Book

Title: Anno's Counting Book
By Mitsumasa Anno
Illustrator: Mitsumasa Anno
Recommended Grade Level: Pre K-3rd

Common Core Standards Addressed: Number sense and operations, also addition.

Summary:
This is a wonderful book for all children. It has beautiful illustrations that can captivate the mind. This book is a counting book that incorporates many mathematical concepts. Anno makes a town come alive by starting with just a landscape and a river. After you turn each page new content is added. Anno uses the concept of building a village to highlight counting, grouping and numbering. He makes it fun for children to discover the new objects on each page.

Ratings ***** I give this book 5 stars! It's such an interesting book and I think children will really enjoy finding and counting all the secret objects that Anno put within the pages. Even though it is geared toward younger children, children and adults can have fun looking at how Anno used counting and wonderful artwork to build a town over 12 months. I found this book fun and will have it my classroom.

Classroom Ideas: Students can use manipulatives to further their understanding of grouping. The children can get into groups of 3-4 and make their own counting book using colored pencils etc. They can make their own villages by starting with one item then adding up the amount of houses, birds other objects they wish to have in their village. After they complete this activity, the class can do a group share.