Double the Ducks

My kids are "too big" for picture books -- but we keep these Stuart Murphy books around anyway. They set a great foundation for math concepts, and they are fun to read. Double the ducks is one of my favorites -- it is rhythmic and has adorable illustrations. Great for visual learning, auditory learning, and it really teaches the math concept of doubling. Excellent. Your library has Murphy's books, I'm sure -- but it's worth it to buy the ones that your family enjoys, since they will continue to like them well beyond the "picture book" stage. Also (sneaky mom trick) you can have your BIG kids read this to littler siblings or cousins or playmates -- then the big kid becomes the teacher and really learns the concept.

This is a pretty cute book. At first, the little farmer boy has five ducks for which to care and he describes a typical day that that many ducks require. He explains how much food they need, their bath, and how they go to bed. However, when they all go out for a walk one day, they each bring back a friend, doubling the little farmer's efforts. So, now he needs double the food, double the straw and double the hands and asks for a friend too. This book does a great job of explaining what happens when you now have twice as many items as you did previously. However, it really isn't very entertaining and my little one doesn't really care to have it read much. It's not as interesting as some of the other Mathstart books, but I would still get it to explain the doubling concept.