Countablock by Christopher Franceschelli

by Christopher Franceschelli

NAPPA Silver Award Winner“Stylish silkscreenlike illustrations and opportunities for both counting and guessing what happens next should keep copies of this chunky book well-loved.” ― Publishers Weekly Learning to count is as easy as 1, 2, 3 in this fun addition to the Abrams Block Book series! Young readers will explore the joy of numbers in an exciting and unique way, from 1 right up to 100. Perfect for little hands, Countablock features thick pages cut into the shape of each numeral, creating a peek-through guessing game around the number form itself. One acorn becomes . . . one oak tree! From snowmen to puddles and eggs to chicks, quantities are illustrated both before and after their “transformations.” As children interact with the pages, they will familiarize themselves not only with the numbers 1–100 and associated quantities, but with each numeral’s physicality—angles, holes, and curves, both front and back. Numerals include 1–10, and 20–100 counted by tens for easier understanding. Like other books in the Block Book series such as Alphablock, Cityblock, Dinoblock , and Buildablock , Countablock features die-cuts on every spread. In addition, this book ends with two special pages that fold out to reveal a grand finale illustration of 100 puzzle pieces. With bright, animated, retro-inspired artwork by Peski Studio, this fresh take on counting encourages readers to manipulate numbers in a whole new way. Your child will have so much fun reading this book, they won’t realize that learning to count to 100 is part of their education! Collect the whole AlphablockCountablockDinoblockCityblockBuildablockStar Wars BlockMarvel AlphablockFarmblockDisney BlockLoveblockSharkblockSesame Street CountablockSpaceblockPixar Buddy BlockBugblock Also A BOX OF BLOCKS, featuring Alphablock , Countablock , and Dinoblock .

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Counting, Number, Mathematics

Unknown Binding

First published September 2, 2014

Reviews

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK. Parent to Parent- FIND IT, BUY IT, ENJOY IT!
Ever feel frustrated that your toddler is obsessed with numbers, only to discover that every book designed for toddlers caps out at the number 10? Well I was! Henry could count to 30 at age 2 and I wish I had found this book a year ago when I was frustrated and trying to toggle the line between preschooler and elementary aged concept books for numbers.
It is small, perfect for toddler hands; has number cut-outs, which are fun to play with; has simple, bright, graphic designs that are better at holding toddler attention than number books for older kids; and goes all the way to 100, perfection. It was such a relief to find something suited to my toddler's love without advancing his reading level or getting too sophisticated. Even my 18 month old has learned a handful of numbers and shouts with glee when she sees the babies and the monkeys. I genuinely enjoy that this is a book I can read with both kids on my lap and have it hold BOTH of their interests. It's a winner.

[Jocelin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the feel of the chunky board books of the "block" series.

[Lin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should be ZIPPER, NOT Zoom. Other than that, it's a perfect book. Minus one star for blowing it on the very last page.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really cool toddler book! I love how it pairs numbers with objects and how those objects might change, e.g. six balls of yarn becomes six sweaters, 20 caterpillars becomes twenty butterflies. This repetition is a handy learning device for young children just grasping numbers, but as a bonus, this throws in some vocabulary and early science concepts as well. Plus, the thick pages with a number cut into the side makes the pages easy to turn, but it also provides a numerical, word, and object representation of the numbers, which is a great tool for learning. The colorful illustrations are eye-catching, and don't feel too babyish for preschoolers who might also enjoy thumbing through this book. This book is big and does take up a lot of shelf space, but I think it's worth while. I think it might be the first toddler book I have seen that has explored numbers up to 100, which is usually beyond a toddler's level, but hey, doesn't hurt to help them start visualizing the concept through imagery if nothing else. Very educational and fun!

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this had not been included on a summer reading list created by the American Library Services for Children council I would never have ordered it. It is an awkward size for a board book -- fully two inches thick and comprised of 48 pages. It will not hold up as a library book. I predict a dozen or less circulations, and the book is on the pricey side for board books -- $16.95.

However, the illustrations and concepts are delightfully rendered. I wouldn't mind owning a copy, but probably will not indulge.

[Laura Weir · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been so great for teaching my 3 year old to count. As a baby, she loved the pictures. The themes of things "becoming" other things on the next page is cool. I'm not sure why they decided to do a rainbow on the page for the number 7 considering there are 6 colors, though. The last page with the fold-out picture of a puzzle containing pictures from all the previous pages really cool. Only thing that could make it better is actually listing numbers 1-100 at the end. But I highly recommend this book!

[Amy Moreno · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 4 and 6 year old both adored this book, one for learning to count and one for showing off his awesome counting skills while looking at the cute illustrations. We liked the fun cutout number shapes and the flip page progressions (6 balls of yarn becomes *flip page* 6 sweaters). I really liked the THICK sturdy pages, to make sure little hands don’t pull too hard. We really liked this book!

[Bethel Swift · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this to two 2-year-olds and they loved it. Their favorite pages are the caterpillars to butterflies and cookie dough to cookies and my favorites were the snowmen (that turn into puddles) & boxes (that turn into forts) because both are just so clever. I would definitely buy this book!

[Aryonna Dorsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Countablock was a great big puzzle book. This is a great example of a concept book for a parent to use to help their child count, learn various patterns, colors, shapes and sizes!!. This would be a great gift or book to read with your child.

[lookmairead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why I gift this series: Your kids will be counting to 100 before you know it. I also love the cause & effect rhythm in this. My kids felt empowered when they could read it themselves.

The dinoblock is also a favorite- mostly because I need help pronouncing all those big names!

[Michelle Madrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son loves going back to this book. He had autism so finding a book that captures his attention can be tasking at times, but it’s one of his favorites. Vibrant helped him a great deal with learning his numbers.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun!

[Karen Dusing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great board book.

[Lucca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great one in the series. Very Montessori-esque.

[nadia pk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colorido, divertido e um ótimo material para aprender brincando os números.

[Kurtbg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creative and engaging book on numbers.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool, fat board book about counting with well thought out illustrations. Definitely worth exploring the other titles in the series!

[Kelly]

I love this series and the sturdiness of the flaps. I also like how it counts up but skips the individual numbers for the more interesting counting by 10s.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised that this book went up to 100 in counting. This will be a great way to spend quality time together while learning numbers and how one item turns into another.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Longer than some of the other Block books but a great read! My kid loves it. Some unexpected happenings help make it so joyful to read!

[Raquel C · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art is fun and the book’s concept makes counting to 100 fun. My son loves this book. We have to read all of the books by the author.

[Melissa Swistek · Rating 5 out of 5]

B A N G E R

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun! Looking forward to reading our Alphablock when we get back to MN. And might need to acquire this one, too.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-4.5 stars

[Zojka Marcin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Túto si stále nosíme k doktore do čakárne.

[Şengül · Rating 5 out of 5]

Türkiye'de satılmıyor olması kötü. Çizimleri - içeriği çocuğa kendini sevdirtiyor. Benim birşey yapmama gerek kalmıyor sayfaları incelerken epey eğleniyorlar. Küçük kızımın da ( 10 aylık) ilgisini çekiyor

[Cara Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably one of the most physically interesting board books I've ever seen that is still durable enough to survive a baby's eating/ripping habits. In introducing a baby to 1 -100 as well as cause and effect ("four babies become ... four children!" and "thirty baskets of cucumbers become... thirty jars of pickles" and "Forty eggs become ... thirty-nine chicks and one dinosaur!"), the book serves both as a basic number learning text, as well as an entertaining read. The cut out numbers do not add much more than tactile interest to the book, yet this chunk of a board book is still a great investment and something I'd consider buying.

[alana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this chunky, little book! Yes, it's a counting book, but it also focuses on becoming/transforming. So one page presents how XX number of cucumbers becomes...*turn the page* XX number of pickles. Or seeds to flowers, tadpoles to frogs, balls of cookie dough to cookies, sheets of paper to paper airplanes, etc. Super cute! The right pages are cut to the right side shape of each number introduced. The book goes 1-10, then has a double page spread counting from 15 to 19 "and then" *turn the page* 20! From there it goes up by tens in the same way up to 100 giving the repetitive counting opportunities along the way. Unique and adorable! I must acquire it for our library.

[Dina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever counting book with cut-out numbers previewing what comes next. For example, 40 eggs on one spread become 39 chicks and 1 dinosaur(!) on the next. The fun continues up to 100. Each single numeral gets the special cutout 2 page-spread treatment. After the tens numbers, there is a page between one and the next, showing each numeral in between--such as 10 on 2 page-spreads, followed by 11 . . . 19 on the next, then onto 20. A great way to help kids learn to count to 100--and to clearly learn a one-to-one association.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author of Alphablock returns with a counting book this time. With thick board pages that are die cut into the shapes of the numbers, the book gives each number two pages where first you are given a number of objects and then what those objects become. So three boxes become three forts and eight bananas become eight banana peels with the help of some monkeys. After number ten, the book starts to count by tens and eventually reaches 100.