Ten Little Dinosaurs
Mike Brownlow and Simon Rickerty
Orchard Books
Whether or not there were snails, frogs, bats, spiders, crayfish, crabs, hedgehogs, bees and the like in the time dinosaurs roamed the earth matters not: Simon Rickerty has chosen to scatter them liberally throughout the landscapes of this rhyming romp. Essentially it’s a countdown from when there are ‘Ten little dinosaurs, hatching from their eggs,/Blinking in the sunshine, stretching out their legs.’ These ten newly hatched creatures decide to take advantage of the fact their mother is fast asleep and off they go, in single file, to explore the wide world. Did I say ten? Stomp! That was Diplodocus stepping on one of their number. And so the adventure continues as they take in the surrounding aromas – Slurrrp!; – another gone; peep into a cavern, wander across the volcanic plains, take a dip in the bubbling springs, do a bit of scrumping ,

polish up their poo-avoiding plodding, try their hand or rather paws, at mountain climbing –  and then they’re down to just one.

Seemingly he’s about to meet his doom too. But…
PHEW! It’s neither a raptor, nor a T-Rex, not even a monster. No! It’s their very own mother who’s come in search of her missing offspring and hip-hooray!!, she now has them all together once more safe and sound within her sight – more or less anyway.

Another winning Brownlow/Rickerty combo: a rollicking-good read, an ever-popular topic and an enjoyable countdown littered with tiny creatures to spot and count in the vividly coloured, comical scenes A certain winner for early years listeners (and counters).

For younger mathematicians is:

 

Lulu Loves Numbers
Camilla Reid and Ailie Busby
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
This is a small board book that features Lulu who, in this story, is with her mum visiting a farm. There they encounter lots of animals and Lulu learns to count from one all the way to …

With doors to open or a flap to lift on every spread, this is an enjoyable interactive experience for the very youngest who can join in with the animal noises and practice their counting skills along with Lulu in this delightful little book.

Not a counting book as such but packed full of opportunities for mathematical exploration is

Teddy Picnic
Georgie Birkett
Andersen Press
The toys from Teddy Bedtime return for a picnic expedition and we join them as they make their final preparations before setting off. They walk and skip into the woods where they have fun bubble blowing, hiding and dancing

before settling down on their rug for some tasty lunch
Then, tummies full, the friends play while hungry birds make the most of the remains of the lunch; but all that rushing around is tiring so it’s a train ride home. Tired but happy the ‘teddies’ settle down for a cosy story-time session on the sofa before bed.

With its gentle rhyming text, super-cute characters, and fun-filled scenes to focus on, this is ideal for sharing with the very young

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