I Love Kindergarten! Numbers

PreS-Gr 1–“The world is filled with numbers,/ everywhere you look” states this poetic primer on numeracy. Each verse focuses on a foundational concept of early mathematics, including numeral recognition, number sequence, and properties of shapes. Steinberg also devotes entries to less widely recognized skills, such as sorting, matching, and pattern-making, that also deserve their moment in the spotlight. The quality of the writing tends towards the prosaic, with plodding rhythm and end-stopped rhymes: “Here come the dinosaurs, one and all./ We line them up from big to small./ Across the playtime rug they go,/ dinos marching in a row.” In one instance, a detail in the book’s design detracts from the effectiveness of presentation: in a poem on the confusion between the numerals 6 and 9, the text employs a typeface in which the 6 is formed with a curved stroke while the 9 is made with a straight vertical line, thereby removing the putative resemblance and undercutting the humor. Martín capably illustrates the poems with an eye toward supporting the learning content. The curricular tie-ins are clear and accessible, bright spreads and vignettes featuring the objects to be found, counted, and categorized. From a stylistic standpoint, the art is less appealing. Characters float against vague digital backgrounds, sporting identical wide-eyed smiles on nearly every page.