ABC's and 123's

Tiger Tales recently sent me a box of books.  Immediately, I saw two books that I knew BOTH of my children AND I would love.  I was right!

A Is for Apple and 123 Count with Me are fabulous!  Both sturdy board books are interactive with "tracks" to trace the letters and numbers and flaps to lift.  (Arrows help to know the direction to go and the numbers help the child to know which order to go.)  Both books are geared for ages 2-5, and I think that is a great age for these books.

 In A is for Apple, each capital and lower case letter is shown, and the capital letter has a low-lying, different colored "track."  Each letter features a simple sentence, complete with illustrations such as, "Gg is for goat and gate."  Under the flap, is the second illustration and the end of the sentence.  My son (age 3) likes to trace the letters and say "Up, down, up, down."  Sometimes he says the letter, and sometimes he doesn't.  But he always names the pictures.  My daughter (age 5) traces the letters and reads the book aloud.  The other morning she saw A is for Apple and exclaimed, "That's my favorite!"  This is definitely a book I would consider giving as a gift and is a family favorite.

123 Count with Me uses the same techniques as A Is for Apple for the tracing of the letters with tracks and arrows.  Each page features a number, 1-20.  For the number eight, there are 7 trains showing and another hiding  under the flap.  Also visible on the page, it says "8 eight trains."  Under the flap, it says "Number eight is late."  I like the variety of objects featured in this book (socks, ducks, crayons, strawberries), but do wish that each page's illustrations were a bit more varied.  (For example, all 12 socks are purple and green striped.)  This is still a great tool for children to use to enjoy forming the numbers though!

Tiger Tales is known for their quality books, and these did not disappoint.  I love that they are alphabet and number books that are still engaging for for the young (age 2) and old (age 5).  Often similar books don't engage an older child that recognizes letters and numbers well.

Thank you, Tiger Tales, for providing us with these books for review purposes.