Dotty and Dash’s 123 is a sturdy, colourful, pop-up counting book with an easy to read rhyming text. Dotty is a spotty dog and Dash is a tortoise, they’re an irresistible pair who have fun as they introduce little readers to numbers up to 100.
The Story: Dotty and Dash can’t decide which number they like the best. They talk us through all the numbers one to ten then race through ten, twenty all the way to one hundred where they get a lovely surprise.
Dotty and Dash’s enthusiasm for counting is infectious and the introduce us to an array of characters and situations as they try to decide which number is their favourite. They reference parts of the body (including the senses), seasons, shoes and the number of legs that various creatures have.
Each number pops up on the page and numbers one to ten are shown along the bottom. Once we move into the tens each individual number is shown which makes it easier to repeat counting and consolidate number recognition.
Craig Shuttlewood’s illustrations are bold, colourful and full of little details which are great for stimulating conversation. The brightly patterned numbers dominate the middle of each page and there are so many humorous details in the pictures.
There’s a rainbow, ladybirds, cats, sheep, marching bears and stars and it’s really a challenge to start counting in the thirties, forties and fifties. Even Dotty and Dash are surprised at how big numbers can get as they watch one hundred butterflies fluttering on the final spread.
Dotty and Dash’s 123 is a fabulous book to introduce numbers and consolidate number recognition and counting skills. It would make a great addition to an early years classroom.
Age Range: 2 +
Author: Patricia Hegarty / Illustrator: Craig Shuttlewood
Thank you Little Tiger Press for sending a review copy of Dotty and Dash’s 123. It makes learning to count a lot of fun 🙂
I remember my children loving counting books. This looks a fun one. Lovely way to learn. #MMBC
I love the way that the numbers pop up in the middle, the illustrations are absolutely fabulous 🙂
I always like recommendations for the very youngest members of my family and this looks like a lovely read for my smallest nephew.
We love the two main characters, they have so much fun counting up to 100 🙂
This looks a very entertaining way to learn about numbers. Colourful too which helps. #ReadWithMe
The illustrations are gorgeous, I love the way that colour is used – bold but not too bold if that makes sense!
Oh wow, my numbers-obsessed 3 year old would love this! I’ll keep a look out for it! #readwithme
It’s lovely, a really fun way to learn numbers 🙂