1, 2, 3 to the Zoo: A Counting Book

Eric Carle certainly needs no introduction from me, but this book seems to be one of his less well-known works. His classic illustrations take primary importance as this is a wordless book - at least, there's nothing specified to say aloud. Instead, this book is a great opportunity for young readers to become active participants by identifying numbers 1-10 and counting the different animals on their way to the zoo. A charming touch is the bottom of each page spread where you can keep track of which animals have joined the train already. The end of the book features a lively illustration of all the animals in their exhibits at the zoo and the now empty train. My daughter is 4.5 and has known her numbers for a while, but still loves show more reading this book. show less

Eric Carle's art can be striking, but here it seems as pedestrian as the minimalist story wherein he draws barely there train cars filled with increasing numbers of zoo animals. There's a mouse hiding on each page, but it doesn't do much but give kids a mouse to search for on each page -- there's no clever integration to speak of or a payoff of any sort.

I am a huge fan of all Eric Carle books, and this one is another charming read. This is a counting book that brings numbers to life on the pages. With colorful drawings and animated animals, this book will be sure to help children learn how to count in an exciting way. This book includes ten different zoo animals, that are introduced one by one. The last page allows readers to see the total number of animals that all live in the zoo. I think this is a great concept book and could easily be used with early childhood ages and in kindergarten classrooms to teach numbers and counting in sequence. Another great Eric Carle book.

1,2,3 To The Zoo is a delightful Eric Carle book for toddlers and preschoolers who are ready to learn their numbers. Carle combines two elements - Animals and Trains!-- to keep their interest. And most children love his artwork.

The book begins with a two-page spread of a lovely blue steam engine. The next two pages show 1 elephant on a flat-bed shipping car; the following pages, 2 hippos on their own flatbed, and so forth. The concept is that the engine is picking up the shipping-cars, making for a longer train.

What I like about this book is that there is lots to talk about. Adults can use it to teach the names of colors, as well as the names of animals, in addition to how many there are of them.

The notion of 'addition' is shown at the show more bottom of each page where Carle shows the train getting longer as we go along. The last pages shows an overview of the zoo with every animal where it should be.

Talking Points :::
o The artwork in this one is typical of Eric Carle.

o The big pictures done in bright colors as well as the train and animal motif ought to keep a small fry's attention.

o All the primary colors are shown. Along with numbers 1 through 10. (You "can" use this book to talk about "0" as well. The train with no animals is shown.)

o Animals mentioned are: elephant, hippos, giraffes, lions, bears, alligators or crocodiles, seals, mouse, monkeys, snakes, and a variety of birds.

o For Toddlers and Preschoolers.

Pam T~
mom and reviewer at BooksForKids-reviews show less

Like other Eric Carle books, 1, 2, 3, to the Zoo is illustrated with bright pictures. This book has a lot of white background space in order to make the pictures really pop out at the reader. This is a picture book with no words. Children can see the number in a bright color, and then see that many animals on the page. I think this is a great counting book for young children and really focuses on their love of animals and attention to color variations.

"1, 2, 3 to the Zoo: A Counting Book" is an early counting book. The counting is done through illustrated animals on a train. The book begins with one elephant and then next page has two hippos and so on until there are ten animals and they get to the zoo. This book is fine for very young children, but I was not impressed with the content. I was also surprised that as the numbers got higher, it was harder to differentiate between some of the objects (especially the page with nine snakes).

This is a very simple, straightforward, and beautifully illustrated counting book. It is perfect for young children who are learning to count to ten.