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Ten Puppies

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Mother Dog has TEN puppies.
Nine have pink tongues.
One has a blue tongue.
Eight have pointed noses.
Two have flat noses.
Seven have floppy ears.
Three have perky ears ... Ten puppies group
and regroup.
Mother dog counts
and recounts.
9 + 1 = 10
8 + 2 = 10
7 + 3 = 10 ... Mother Dog has TEN puppies.
No two are exactly alike.
Each is remarkable.
And, added together,
they equal a family.

40 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2003

8 people want to read

About the author

Lynn Reiser

29 books5 followers

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5 stars
10 (16%)
4 stars
23 (38%)
3 stars
21 (35%)
2 stars
3 (5%)
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2 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
31 reviews
September 20, 2017
A really interesting take on the concept of arithmetic and grouping! "Ten Puppies" introduces children to simple addition by taking a group of ten puppies, and illustrating how, regardless of the different groups, they always add back up to ten. I don't think that this book is suitable for children above kindergarten, even as an early-reader book, since the prose reads as a little "cutesy," but I think it would go off without a hitch in individual or group interactions with 3, 4, and 5 year olds.

A part of the book I thought was most interesting was the emphasis on different kinds of grouping. Rather than adding things that are completely alike, like most books introducing the concept, Reiser frequently categorizes the puppies by different things. Differences in tongues, colors, tail textures, etc. are all pointed out and celebrated. What's more interesting still is that Reiser takes the time to emphasize, with their "addition" back together, that they're all a family. I really appreciated this minor introduction to the idea of subjectivity—that what makes the puppy family different from one another depends on what you're looking for—and I think it could be something that young children really respond to.
35 reviews
November 6, 2017
"Ten Puppies" written and illustrated by Lynn Reiser is a picture book about ten puppies that were adopted from an animal shelter. Reiser introduces the basic concept of addition to young readers by using the puppies differences.
Mother Dog has TEN puppies.
Nine have pink tongues. One has a blue tongue. This shows that 9+1=10
Eight have pointed noses. Two have flat noses. This shows that 8+2=10
Seven have floppy ears. Three have perky ears. This shows that 7+3=10
All the puppies are different yet together they make a complete and happy family!
This book is short with beautiful water colored illustrations and easy to read vocabulary. I would recommend to ages 2 to 4!
29 reviews
September 21, 2017
Ten Puppies is an adorably perfect book for learning! Who doesn’t love puppies?! This puppy family will take readers through the concepts of color, counting, body parts, adjectives, and adding! I love the illustrations and the fun ways this will teach children.
Profile Image for Whitney Pittsenbarger.
122 reviews3 followers
February 16, 2019
A very cute visual way of showing different ways of counting to ten. As well as categorizing similarities and differences.
Profile Image for Sara Check.
40 reviews2 followers
October 10, 2011
1.This is a counting concept book.

2.Ten puppies are adopted from a rescue center. This mommy loves the puppies so much that she adopted puppies of all colors, shapes and sizes. This book classifies the puppies and always ends up with two groups that equal ten.

3.A. Lynn Reiser’s Ten Puppies is clever and innovative way to introduce counting, adding and classifying. Her illustrations provide the reader with ample clues for decoding, her large numbers opposite one another provide the reader to count up, down and regroup. Reiser developed a book that can be used in a variety of ways with child-friendly colors and adorable puppies!

B. The greatest aspect of this delightful yet effective counting book is the strategy Reiser uses to introduce the reader of counting. She not only allows the reader to count up to ten and down to one at the same time but also begins the idea of regrouping, classifying and adding. To use the puppies to classify by a characteristic like eye color, tails, fur type and noses appeals to children but also gets them to count! “FIVE had curly tails. FIVE had straight tails” (p15-16).

C. Reiser provides numerals and the number in words, in CAPS, on each page so that the reader can identify and decode. This is instrumental to young readers learning to read, count and add. On pages 5-6, “Mother Dog raised TEN puppies”. The puppies are then classified by interesting characteristics, “NINE had pink tongues. ONE had a blue tongue.” (p 7-8) to “SEVEN had floppy ears. THREE had perky ears.” (p 11-12) to “TWO had blue eyes. EIGHT had brown eyes.” (p 21-22) and on pages 25-26 she is left with an empty puppy bed and a full family of dogs!

4.Curriculum Connection- This book would be wonderful to introduce simple addition! This book could be used for a week full of addition and classification activities. Reading for enjoyment and discussion would lead to another reading for filling out charts with addition sentences describing each page as we read. Providing students with pictures of kittens and have them recreate the story whole group or in small groups.
Profile Image for Amanda Toombs.
41 reviews2 followers
September 22, 2011
Genre: Picture book—Counting

Summary: A mother dog has raised ten puppies at the “Puppy Rescue Center” in which are different in many ways. No two are exactly alike, but each difference they have helps readers recognize different ways to come up with the sum 10.
Critique:
a. The strength this book is the ways that the author shows ten puppies with different characteristics while adding in some basic arithmetic that helps students with counting. Also, the illustrations show a great detail in the descriptions that are shown to represent the ten puppies.
b. As this book shows interesting illustrations showing the ten puppies in different ways, it also shows different ways the puppies can the characterized. It shows math problems, while describing the puppies into categories. It also has a great deal of information to help students with counting. The illustrations are magnificent when describing a certain trait of the puppies. Each illustration shows the puppies exactly like the words describe them. With this being said, if four of the puppies have shaggy fur, and six have smooth fur, this shows a math problem of 4+6=10

c. Each page of the book shows simple arithmetic that can be presented in problems such as 9+1=10 on page 6 and 7, and 8+2=10 on page 8 and 9. Specific illustrations are shown on page 8-9, that show very detailed images of the tongues of the dogs.
Curriculum Connection:
This book is a good counting book that can be used with younger children when they are learning how to count. Also, I would work this book into lessons that involved simple math problems. Also, student should use their imaginations and make up a story similar to this book, with not only showing their math skills but also showing and demonstrating specific characteristics and traits like the puppies.
Profile Image for Jade Nguyen.
40 reviews2 followers
October 18, 2011

1. { Genre }: Counting

2. { Summary }: There are ten puppies and each of them are unique. Nine of them have pink tongues while one has a blue tongue. Six are plain while the remaining four have spots.

3a. { Area for comment }: Composition


3b. { Critique }:
The composition of Ten Puppies lends itself to more than just simple counting techniques. It utilizes a non-gender specific animal to engage all learners.


3c. { Critique Example }:

Ten Puppies is much more involved than it appears. The primary usage of color makes it easier on young readers eyes so that they can focus on the generated tasks shown on each page. The reader is already told how many dogs are on each page and what characteristics they have. So is this really a book that should be categorized as “counting”? Although I would argue that it can, in fact, include counting, I don’t think that’s the main purpose of this title. At the very last page, a dog is pictured holding the ten different ways in which one can come to sum of 10. I would like to say that Ten Puppies’ intention is to not only have its readers identify the numbers to the dogs, but also identify them to the way in which they add up to 10. It’s a clever and convincing way of layering counting and addition.

4. { Curriculum Connection }:
For the obvious reasons, I would use this in a Pre-K 1 setting, but more so in the Pre-K. It’s a very clever way in which to engage students at a young age. I would provide blank cut-outs of 10 dogs for each of my students. Then, as I read Ten Puppies to the class, I will direct and expect them to visualize and show the problem per page. For example, if I read, “there are three puppies with spots” I would expect them to count out three dogs and draw spots on them. This would probably be a weekly pre-assignment to introduce the Math curriculum for the day.
1,140 reviews
March 6, 2013
Ten Puppies by Lynn Reiser views Mother Dog's ten adopted puppies and their characteristics through comparisons and math.

Reiser's bright, colorful illustrations were made using watercolor paints. The different breeds of puppies to be adopted are clearly and appealingly pictured. Mostly double-page spreads are used. My favorite images are following mother, ears, tongues, tails, paws, eyes, ten dogs, and addition chart.

This seemingly simple book cleverly introduces counting, adding and classifying. The ten puppies are counted up from one to ten. Puppies are grouped and rerouped in a series of addition examples. Tongues, noses, ears, spots, tails, fur, paws. eyes, and length are classified and compared. At the end of the book Mother Dog holds a chart showing the addition problems representing the regrouping examples from the body of the text.

Numbers and backgrounds share the same colors, offering an opportunity for naming colors. As the comparisons of the puppies are made, numbers on the left hand pages go down while numbers on the right hand pages go up, each one by one. I really liked the incorporation of a puppy rescue center into the story.

Ten Puppies can be used in math and in science classification lessons for young learners. It offers opportunities to review colors. I highly recommended Ten Puppies for school and public library collections. 4.5 star rating.

For ages 4 to 7, counting, addition, regrouping, categorizing, dogs, puppies, body parts, opposites, colors, storytime, and fans of Lynn Reiser.
28 reviews3 followers
September 15, 2012
Ten Puppies is a sweet children's book that teaches a few concepts for early readers. Although the book is very simplistic in general, I found a lot of value in the examples of the mother dog counting the ten puppies, giving practice in counting, while also showing kids that there are different ways you can count up to ten (groups of 1 and 9, 2 and 8, etc.), which constructs a foundation for basic addition principles. Although its primary goal seems to be counting and adding, it also shows kids how various breeds of dogs differ; they have different noses, tails, ears, and so on. This book is fantastically colorful, using many bright colors to capture the attention of the child who is being read to, and I'm sure that an adult could use this book to also teach colors to their kids, since the pages and the puppies vary in color. Although maybe I read too much into the book, I also felt that there was definitely an underlying lesson about diversity, particularly diverse families, as there was a golden retriever that adopted puppies that were completely different from her. Regardless of its status as a lesson on racial, gender, or personality diversity, this book aids in the teaching of counting and color, but also shows that no two people or, in this case, dogs, are alike, which is a valuable lesson for young children to learn.
Profile Image for Lindsay.
23 reviews
October 3, 2011
Genre: Picture Book - Counting

Summary: This is book is about a mother dog who raises ten puppies. The book explains the differences in the puppies. Some puppies have pink tongues, some have blue tongues, some have pointed noses and some have flat noses.

Critique:
(a)This book finds its strength in the counting that is present throughout the book. The counting is the focus of the book and is definitely the strength of the book.
(b)This is an extremely strong book where counting is concerned. The puppies are compared and contrasted which is also an important concept present in the book. However, the counting is the main purpose of the book and provides a strong text for readers who are focused on counting.
(c)The puppies are described on every page along with how many puppies are in each category. For example, six puppies are plain and four puppies have spots.

Curriculum connection: This is the perfect book for students practicing counting and especially addition facts. The book even ends with a review chart of what numbers can be added to equal ten.
Profile Image for Lauren.
30 reviews
September 16, 2013
Ten Puppies by Lynn Reiser is a great choice for children learning to count and add. The book tells the story of a dog who has ten puppies. On each page, the book says something like, "Eight had pointed noses. Two had flat noses." This teaches children that eight plus two is ten, but in a way that is interesting to them. The books uses very bright colors on each page, which grabs your attention. Something that I really loved about the book is that whenever a number is mentioned, it is represented in all capital letters AND the number is shown. This allows readers to recognize that "two" and "2" mean the same thing. The illustrations are pretty simple, but very cute. Each dog is different, so kids will have fun looking at each puppy and picking out their favorites. The sentences are simple and easy for young children to understand so this book is definitely one I would recommend for anyone learning to count or add, or for teachers to have in their room and maybe incorporate into a math lesson!
Profile Image for Nicole White.
40 reviews
October 12, 2012
Ten Puppies by Lynn Reiser

1. Genre: Counting

2. Ten Puppies is a wonderful book for pre-school aged children about a mother dog’s unique litter of ten puppies.

3. a. Area for comment: Composition

b. I read this book to my four year old daughter who currently attends pre-school. She loved learning and seeing the one-to-one correspondence between the numbers and descriptions that were being read, and the illustrations. Ten Puppies is also a great book to use when introducing addition, as each page separates the ten puppies into two groups based on one unique characteristic.

c. On pages 11 and 12, the puppies are classified into two groups: floppy ears and perky ears. My daughter loved counting the seven puppies with floppy ears, and the three puppies with perky ears. This pattern of composition is seen on each page.
Profile Image for Amy Keltner.
56 reviews
Read
December 10, 2011
1. Counting
2. A mother dog rescues 10 puppies from the pound. Over the pages you are able to see the animals grow into the dogs they were meant to become.
3. a: The biggest element of the story is the composition of the way it is put together.
b: Using the power of visualization the author allows you to view the animals and use them as her mode of counting. Letting you use their physical appearances to describe how many of the animals had the element being discussed.
c: 8: EIGHT had pointed noses. 2: TWO had flat noses. The physical appearances of the dogs always add up to ten.
4. I would use this to introduce adding. How it can be simple when visual elements and hands on tools are involved.
31 reviews
January 30, 2013
The book 'Ten Puppies' by Lynn Reiser tells about "Mother Dog" who raises ten puppies to be ten dogs. Throughout the book the author uses the puppies different features to show the concept of adding. The different features of the dogs will always add up to 10. For example, "EIGHT had pointed noses. TWO had flat noses." I like how the author used all kinds of different dogs to show this concept as well. No two dogs were the same. The colors of the book's illustrations were bright and eye catching. I think the illustrations tied in well with the concept of the story. The pictures seem painted and splotchy but I think they work well with the different kinds of dogs and all of their features.
30 reviews
September 17, 2013
The book "Ten Puppies" by Lynn Reiser is a great concept book for children. When turning each page you see colorful pictures done with watercolors, that points out all the different aspects of each dog. This book shows kids the many differences a dog can have, while teaching them to count. This book will get them to notice a dogs ears, eyes, or tail and how it can set them apart rather than just looking at every dog as the same. This book also helps kids master the many set of numbers you can use to make up the number ten. It get the kids thinking and want to be able to learn more. Using the concept of small numbers and dogs is something that is easy and fun to get the kids interest and teach them how to count.
Profile Image for Melissa.
95 reviews8 followers
July 1, 2015
Lynn Reiser uses watercolor illustrations and simple text to make learning about the number ten exciting. She highlights all the different ways to add two numbers to equal ten by using descriptive words to separate the puppies into groups. As a teacher or parent of a preschooler or early elementary student, I could use this book to teach about adjectives in language arts or decomposing numbers in math class. I would recommend the book Ten Puppies as a great addition to a classroom, library, or personal book collection.
Profile Image for Lindsay Rogers.
37 reviews2 followers
April 16, 2009
The story is of ten puppies waiting to be adopted. Their common features are tallied, which could be a fun thing to do with a child when teaching them their numbers. There is also some basic arithmetic which is good. I love the collage images, the simple but colorful images are bound to be pleasing for most young children!
Profile Image for Lindsey.
115 reviews1 follower
December 1, 2011
This book helps teach numbers and teach opposites as well. I like dogs, and most kids do as well, so they should enjoy reading this book with all the different types of pups in it. A very colorful book as well!
Profile Image for Natalie.
836 reviews17 followers
May 24, 2014
Super cute! P liked all the puppies and I liked the early math concepts!
Profile Image for Karen.
Author 10 books30 followers
May 13, 2015
This book is a super-cute, engaging way to teach simple addition concepts to preschoolers and Kindergarteners. And, early readers can read the book pretty much on their own.
Profile Image for Rachel.
733 reviews
December 19, 2015
Besides of course the cute dogs, this is a great book for preschool through 1st grade to practice making ten, fact families and "turn around" facts. Also sorting by attributes.
Profile Image for Elle.
1,952 reviews
May 12, 2020
Ten puppies are sorted by many characteristics- spots, tails, etc. which would be useful for teachers on elementary math lessons.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews

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