ABC and Counting by Maureen Spurgeon

This book is a very cute rhyme that is for very young children learning to count and say their ABC’s. It could be used for reception and earlier as it teaches children to say the alphabet and some words that start with each letter, as well as teaching them to count up to ten. However it could be used also as a tool for learning to read certain words and gaining an understanding of the rhythm of poetry and rhymes. There is quite a lot of written text in this book and each passage or verse has a picture that matches what was said and can be explored. This book would be a great one for a teacher to read out a loud for her class as it is important to read rhymes and poems to young students and they can also enjoy the rhythm of the teacher’s voice as he/she reads. Another aspect that makes this book a good one to read with a whole class is that there can be some input from everyone as the story asks students to find other items beginning with the letter just mentioned within the picture. This can help students who are struggling with letter recognition.

The story follows a young bear named Teddy who helps children learn their ABC’s by describing moments in his life where he can express words that begin with the letters of the alphabet. He goes many different places throughout his story while always finding many words to share. Teddy then explains that counting is easy too, he then goes on to tell the story of his birthday party and how his mother has asked him to count things like one cake, two jugs of lemonade and three bowls of chips. This helps students recognise the sound of numbers as well as what they look like and can count along with Teddy as he goes.

This book could be used for reception students and possibly year ones, especially if they are struggling with the concepts of the alphabet and counting. The rhyming also makes it interesting to listen to and can be an introduction for young students to poetry and rhymes.