Perfect Picture Book Friday/ Let’s Count It Out, Jesse Bear

Title: Let’s Count It Out, Jesse Bear

Written by: Nancy White Carlstrom

Illustrated by: Bruce Degen

Published by: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, fiction, 1996

Theme: Counting Numbers 1 through 20, Humor, Rhyming.

Appropriate for: Preschool through first grade

Resources: The obvious learning tool one would suspect from this book is learning how to count one through twenty. The humor in this book and the giggles found here make learning to count painless and fun.  I found a resource on another blog for learning how to count, scroll on down to the craft :  http://viviankirkfield.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/ppbf-leo-the-late-bloomer/  for a daisy chain necklace. A little one can learn to count to thirty using this craft with a parents or teachers help. Here is a list of other Jesse Bear books.

Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?

Better Not Get Wet, Jesse Bear

It’s About Time, Jesse Bear, and Other Rhymes

How Do You Say It Today, Jesse Bear?

Happy Birthday, Jesse Bear

Let’s Count It Out, Jesse Bear

What a scare, Jesse Bear

Where is Christmas, Jesse Bear?

Guess Who’s Coming, Jesse Bear

Climb the Family Tree, Jesse Bear 

First Sentence: It started out a tickle, Deep down inside of me; it turned into a giggle and came out a Ha! Ha! Hee!

What the jacket says: Jesse Bear is off on a rollicking trip to an amusement Park—and he’s counting on you to join him! Everyone’s favorite bear is at it again, showing off new shoes, bumping in bumper cars, and –oops!—even getting a few bumps and scratches of his own. Nancy White Carlstrom’s fanciful counting poems and Bruce Degen’s bright, cheery illustrations make Let’s Count It Out, Jesse Bear, the sixth in the Jesse Bear series, a guaranteed hit for read-aloud sessions. This rhyming, rambling jaunt will have readers counting, and chuckling, in no time!

Why I love it: Kids ages three through seven are sure to get the humor in this old-time favorite as Jesse Bear counts out the numbers one through twenty in perfect rhyme. Kids and adults alike enjoy the rhythm of each poem of numbers and the cheerful, happy story that goes with it.  Bruce Degen out does himself painting the illustrations in a vision that tells another story beside the text.(I know I often say that but creating another whole story that supports the original is tough and the hallmark of a good illustrator.And makes for exceptional picture books.)

For more books with resources please visit Perfect Picture Books at Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog. Or if you want to wisk on over to the resource page and see lots of other recommended books just click the Perfect Picture Book Badge on the right.