Storybook Guide Based on Mitsumasa Anno’s “Anno’s Counting Book”

This picture book beautifully illustrates a small town throughout the changing seasons. Each two-page spread shows a number of everyday objects, from one to 12, for your child to find. There are many different groups of objects on each page that show the target number, such as seven cows, seven houses, and seven trees. The illustrations can be used not only to teach counting but also to help your child learn addition and subtraction. The last page offers useful material for adults.

Although there are no words in the story, your children can learn how to read the number symbols: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.

While counting the objects in each scene, your child can learn:

• How to say the counting words from one to 12.
• How to count objects one at a time. This is not so easy because the objects are scattered throughout the illustration and your child must look carefully to find them.
• That the blocks on the left and the written number on the right always show the number of objects to be found.
• That the objects can be seen as separate groups and then added to get the total. For example, your child can see a group of four cows and a group of three, then add them together to get seven cows.