123 Dream
Do you ever wake from a dream and pause to think about its meaning? This book’s images elicit the same response. 123 Dream is a book about counting from one to twenty, with a twist. Each object being counted begins with the same first letter as its corresponding number. From one owl to twenty toes, each page features a numeral paired with an otherwise wordless image, and readers must determine which element in the image is to be counted (e.g. ears or toes?) Highlighted with watercolor, the beautiful pen and ink illustrations balance simple scenes with more challenging ones that open doors for conversation between adults and children. Correctly predicting that readers will enjoy this literary seek-and-find, the author has included a double-page spread at the end of the book with more objects that eager detectives will relish.
Pennsylvania Center for the Book Awards
Book Activities & Discussion Ideas
Children enjoy being active and adding movement to story time is a wonderful way to engage young readers. After children have had the opportunity to connect the first letter of each object and number on each page, add some movement as you count together. For example, adults and children can stick their tongues out six times like a snake, bend to plant ten trees, or tiptoe to the count of twenty. Adults can also extend counting into daily routines with children. How many steps does it take to walk to the lunch area? How many squirts of soap are used to wash hands? Adults can encourage children to count the number of carrots on their plate at snack time. Modeling these practices encourages children to seek, find, and count objects in their everyday environment.
By previewing the book ahead of time, adults can recognize the author’s intentional matching of the first letter of each number and object to be counted. With this knowledge, adults can allow children to explore each page in their own way and help them problem solve when a page contains more than meets the eye. 123 Dream combines counting with the game of “I Spy,” which is something that can extend beyond the book. For example, after counting “two turtles” in the book, an adult can ask a child to look around their environment for something else that begins with letter “t.” Or, while waiting at the doctor’s office, an adult could ask a child to find something red. When the child discovers the object, the adult can add a new challenge by asking the child to count the number of red objects they can find in the room.