Sumo Counting: (Counting Books for Toddlers 1-3)

by Sanae Ishida

Perfect for early learning, this fun board book in the Little Sumo series, from the creator of the Little Kunoichi series, features sumo wrestlers that introduce children to counting and shares elements of Japanese culture that will enrich readers of all ages.

Take a peek into the lives of sumo wrestlers in this adorable counting book! Simple, charming scenes within the sumo stable let young readers practice numbers from one to ten, fifty, and one hundred, while they learn how sumo wrestlers do chores, practice, sleep, bathe, and eat together. Each page features a Japanese word related to sumo culture, as well as the number in English and Japanese.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Japan, Japanese Literature, Juvenile, Counting

22 pages, Board Book

Published September 7, 2021

About the author

Sanae Ishida writes, draws, sews, and takes photos almost every day. In addition to writing and illustrating books for kids, she's written several books on sewing. She lives with her husband and daughter in Seattle, Washington. It's possible that she and her daughter have too many handmade clothes.

Reviews

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a children's book that I read to my twin boys. I loved that there is Japanese and English numbers on each page, and there is also one Japanese word on each page. This book teaches you a little bit about sumo culture. I found this book cute and fun to read. My boys really loved this book. This book is different book then other children's book I have read to my twin boys. The pictures are simple but super cute. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Little Bigfoot) or author (Sanae Ishida) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Sumo Counting is an adorable bilingual Japanese/English illustrated book for babies and children by Sanae Ishida. Due out 7th Sept 2021 from Sasquatch imprint Little Bigfoot, it's 22 pages and will be available in boardbook format.

This is such a fun book with engaging colourful and fun illustrations full of movement and learning opportunities. Each of the illustrations covers a full page with simple inset text describing the pictures simply with numbers shown in both Arabic numerals, Japanese hiragana / IPA, and a short 2 line text in English. It's written as a counting book: "One little sumo full of yokozuna dreams", "Two little sumo wrestlers bouting in a dohyo ring", etc and each subsequent picture is full of more and more little sumo wrestlers doing sumo things (including cleaning up their sumo heya - training and living area). The illustrations are full of subtle little extras which will provide lots of opportunity for hunt and find during reading time.

I really liked that this little book (and the other one in the series) is full of Japanese vocabulary which is easy to understand. All the Japanese words included in the text are also defined with their IPA/hiragana in the back of the book. This would make a wonderful all-ages book for babies up to adults who want to learn a few rudimentary words and numbers as well as simple cultural things from Japan.

Additionally, and it has no real bearing on the book review, but the author/artist, Sanae Ishida's own website and blog are wonderfully creative and full of beautifully designed and constructed sewn clothing, watercolors, printables, papercrafts, and insight. She's a multi-talented creative soul and I am in awe of her sheer productivity.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.


The second book in the Sumo series and I definitely hope that the author makes more of these! Because these are just so much fun!

The previous book was all about opposites, in this one it is all about numbers! From one sumo wrestler having a big dream to eight wrestlers in a big bath. I had so much fun seeing what the little wrestlers were up to and was constantly curious what would be next. I loved seeing the many things that they were doing.

In this one we don’t just learn numbers. Oh no! We also learn some Japanese words that are interspersed in the little sentences that each page has. The numbers are all already explained in both romaji and written language. The words, well of these are often easily deduced from the pictures, but at the end of the book we get some more explanation on what the word means. I was quite happy that we learn so much in a fun packed book. Not just normal numbers (one two three), but also Japanese numbers (ichi, ni, san) and words.

The art? The style is just as good as the first book and I really love seeing what those sumo wrestlers are up to!

All in all, give us more sumo wrestlers books! There are still topics that can be done, so I would love to see them! I would highly recommend this book to everyone.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Elles_shelves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sumo Counting by Sanae Ishida is an adorable picture book for early childhood learners. The illustrations are so cute and I adored seeing the tiny sumo wrestlers. Of course this is at its heart a book on counting and it certainly delivers on presenting the numbers with visuals so that children can physically point to and count. This is obviously a good start to introducing number sense to early learners. This book also introduces Japanese vocabulary along with the counting. This is excellent to help expose children to other cultures. I’ve seen bilingual books in other languages, but this is the first one that I have seen in Japanese. Overall, I liked it and feel that it would be a good addition to my classroom math library.

[joyce w. laudon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The little Sumo wrestlers in this cute picture book are very (!) busy. Get to know them and something about Japanese words and culture as you and a child count to ten, fifty and one hundred. There is an illustrated vocabulary section at the end of the book. This will help adults to explain the pictures to children.

Sumo Counting is an appealing book. Toddlers should enjoy it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

[Andrés · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Teien (garden) and futon pages are the most delightful to me in this book of counting to 10, with visits to 50 and 100. I get to learn about Japanese sumo culture, see Japanese writing, and learn some Japanese terms. Very cute book.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved these absolutely cutie characters as well as the surprises in store in terms of what numbers we get to count to and reach toward the end—a total delight!

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A diverse counting board book about sumo wrestlers! You learn 1-10, 100, and a few other Japanese words. Cute!

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

board book about sumos and counting. each page has a higher number and more sumos doing different activities and it has the english and japanese words and characters. glossary at the end. cute

[IvyInThePages · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5 leaves out of 5
Characters: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Story: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Genre: Children/Board Book
Type: Book
Worth?: Yes!

[Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would be cute to look up the terms and learn more about sumo wrestling culture with an older kid

[Jeimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another delightful addition to this series of board books. The glossary at the end is very helpful!

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this cute picture book with all the little sumos. I even learned some Japanese in the process.