Just Enough Carrots

Little children love to have this story read to them. They learn math skills so necessary for suceeding in school.

This book introduces the counting concepts of the same, fewer, and more. As I read, I found myself wondering why the author would choose peanuts and worms (in addition to carrots) as items for Rabbit to shop for. I expected cabbage or green beans to be more appropriate and easy for children to relate to. I have not purchased many peanuts or worms when shopping with my kids. Of course my misunderstanding was solved by the end of the book when the guests arrived for lunch! What a fun surprise~ The book is very age appropriate as young children are amazed by both the products in a store and what others are choosing to buy. Even adults will see an item in a strangers cart and think, "Maybe I should buy that too!" I particularly liked the way the graphics were drawn to explain the difference between the same, fewer, and more. I can see parents easily taking this a step further when children begin to count by having their children count the items in each boxed picture. The adorable drawings and a fun surprise make this a unique counting book.

I think this book is a great way to introduce beginning math concepts. There is also a section at the back of the book with suggested questions and some activities to further extend the concepts presented. As for comments on the rhyming, I thought it was well done. Any of the "awkward rhymes" were so "barely there" that I hardly noticed them (only because I was looking for them). I felt that it contained enough rhymes to maintain interest but not so many that you are focusing on the rhymes and not the concepts presented.

A wonderful way to introduce the math concepts of comparing amounts.

My 26 month old daughter loves this book. We only bought it a few days ago and have already read it at least a dozen times. I like the rhyming too. There are some books that I don't enjoy reading over and over again, but this one is fun to read. It flows nicely and the illustrations are adorable. I especially get a kick out of the little rabbit's eyes as he pleads with his mom to buy fewer peanuts :-) We're looking into getting more of the Mathstart books because we like this one so much.