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1, 2, 3 to the Zoo
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Joyously colored animals, riding on a train to the zoo, offer youngsters a first introduction to numbers, number sets, addition and counting in Eric Carle’s first picture book. A gate-fold spread at the back of the book, featuring the whole wonderful animal train, adds to the fun! Each car on the train has one more zoo animal than the one before, from the first car with an
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Board book, 20 pages
Published
July 16th 1996
by Philomel Books
(first published 1968)
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Community Reviews
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Start your review of 1, 2, 3 to the Zoo
Carle builds a train page by page, number by number, with different animals on each car. The number of the page is represented at top left corner. At bottom margin (underneath track) is recap of what has already been built. A mouse visits each car. Final spread show all the animals at the zoo, and an empty train at the bottom. I am bemused by the number of reviews here complaining about the lack of text, as if no words makes it incomplete or not challenging for readers. It's called visual litera
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• Genre: Picture Book – Counting
• Awards: none
• Audience: All ages
• Summary: This counting book uses a train car with ten different types of animals on their way to the zoo to familiarize young readers with numbers 1-10.
• A. How do you know this book fits in this specific category?
o This book uses drawings and text to familiarize young readers with the numbers
• B. Describe one of the visual elements of the book and how the illustrator used the element to contribute to the story.
o Carles uses col ...more
• Awards: none
• Audience: All ages
• Summary: This counting book uses a train car with ten different types of animals on their way to the zoo to familiarize young readers with numbers 1-10.
• A. How do you know this book fits in this specific category?
o This book uses drawings and text to familiarize young readers with the numbers
• B. Describe one of the visual elements of the book and how the illustrator used the element to contribute to the story.
o Carles uses col ...more
A delightful number book with Eric Carle's classic artwork. My youngest two children are always asking me to read it to them.
...more
A good book for helping children to count to ten.
This book is just adorable! I loved how it had no words in it and was strictly just pictures with a number in the top left hand corner. It was almost as if this book encouraged a non-reading student to go at their own pace through the book. Encouraging them too look at the illustration, then at the number, and making a connection between the actual number and the actual illustration. I really enjoyed the illustrations and how they almost looked water-color painted on the spread. I also thoroughl
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I thought this was a vibrantly colored counting book that is great for children. The book has no words, so it is perfect for children who can't quite read on their own yet. However, it is also great for a little bit older audience that is just learning numbers and how to count. Younger (pre-reading) children can enjoy the pictures of the animals riding the train to their new homes at the zoo and the slightly older children can count the animals as a new one gets added each time and follow the tr
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This is a great counting book for children. I would recommend this book for preschoolers. They can physically count the animals on the page to see how many there are. This is an age where things have to be fun, engaging, and intriguing and Eric Carle does a great job at maintaining all of those things in this children's book. In the pages, each car on the train has one more zoo animal than the page before did. The first is a car with one elephant and the last one is a car with ten birds. Some of
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We began today's story time with this book (only the first three pages). After singing the usual greeting song (The More We Get Together) and segue-to-theme song (Hello Everybody, Let's...)finishing with the phrase "count to three".
The first page features a train engine and coal car. "Who likes trains?" I asked to an enthusiastic crowd. I turned to the first page where an elephant is pictured on a flat-bed car. "I thought today we would tell the story about Goldilocks and the Elephant," I began. ...more
The first page features a train engine and coal car. "Who likes trains?" I asked to an enthusiastic crowd. I turned to the first page where an elephant is pictured on a flat-bed car. "I thought today we would tell the story about Goldilocks and the Elephant," I began. ...more
Feb 26, 2017
Megan
added it
• Book title and author/illustrator
o 1, 2, 3 To The Zoo
o Written and Illustrated by Eric Carle
• Personal Response to Reviews:
1) Marilyn Courtot (Children’s Literature)
Hurry up and get aboard the train. A collection of animals ranging from one very large elephant to five pairs of birds is headed for the zoo. As each number and the corresponding number of animals is introduced, another car is added to the train running along the bottom of the page. Once at their destination, the cars are em ...more
o 1, 2, 3 To The Zoo
o Written and Illustrated by Eric Carle
• Personal Response to Reviews:
1) Marilyn Courtot (Children’s Literature)
Hurry up and get aboard the train. A collection of animals ranging from one very large elephant to five pairs of birds is headed for the zoo. As each number and the corresponding number of animals is introduced, another car is added to the train running along the bottom of the page. Once at their destination, the cars are em ...more
Feb 25, 2018
Britney Padilla
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
beginning-concept-books
Children grades 1-3.
This book is all about numbers and animals. It takes place on a train as all the animals travel towards the zoo. On each set of pages is a brightly colored number on the top left for the corresponding number of animals per freight car. The beginning pages show the train engine and the conductor starting the journey. The numbers go from one through ten as the illustrations show an elephant, hippos, giraffes, lions, bears, alligators, seals, monkeys, snakes, and birds. The endi ...more
This book is all about numbers and animals. It takes place on a train as all the animals travel towards the zoo. On each set of pages is a brightly colored number on the top left for the corresponding number of animals per freight car. The beginning pages show the train engine and the conductor starting the journey. The numbers go from one through ten as the illustrations show an elephant, hippos, giraffes, lions, bears, alligators, seals, monkeys, snakes, and birds. The endi ...more
Picture Book-Counting Book
Laura Ingalls Award 2003
Audience: PreK-K
- The book 1,2,3 TO THE ZOO fits perfectly into this category because it combines simple counting with unusual illustrations of animals which makes it fun and interactive for children. Early learners will find the whimsical pictures appealing as they learn the beginning rudiments of numbers and counting.
- The coloring in this book was done really well for the age group it is driven towards. It is creative and almost a wordless ...more
Laura Ingalls Award 2003
Audience: PreK-K
- The book 1,2,3 TO THE ZOO fits perfectly into this category because it combines simple counting with unusual illustrations of animals which makes it fun and interactive for children. Early learners will find the whimsical pictures appealing as they learn the beginning rudiments of numbers and counting.
- The coloring in this book was done really well for the age group it is driven towards. It is creative and almost a wordless ...more
Sep 25, 2019
Blaire Harris
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
picture-book-types
123 to the Zoo is another phenomenal picture book illustrated by Eric Carle. The book is very simple and straight to the point as each page is a number counting up to 10 using zoo animals to represent the given number. Eric Carles illustrations are different, colorful, and whacky. None of the animals looked the exact same which I liked most. You can see this on the page with the giraffes and the lions. Not only is this book teaching numbers and counting it is also showing diversity. I especially
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Nothing exceptional content-wise, but lovely Carle illustrations are worth rounding it up to a 4.
Have used it in storytimes, and it works well. Can fit for trains, animals, counting... whatever you want. Easy to incorporate in naming the animals on the train, what sounds do they make, 'can you show me your elephant trunks/alligator chomps?' and so on - build it into a little more than just a counting book. ...more
Have used it in storytimes, and it works well. Can fit for trains, animals, counting... whatever you want. Easy to incorporate in naming the animals on the train, what sounds do they make, 'can you show me your elephant trunks/alligator chomps?' and so on - build it into a little more than just a counting book. ...more
I love Eric Carle's illustrations and this was no exception. It is a simple counting book, but shows the full train with each added car at the bottom of the page, so you watch the train grown longer with each addition. The very last page spread shows all of the animals in the zoo and the train at the bottom has ten empty cars.
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This book is a great book for counting and also addition. The illustrations that accompany the numbers are so colourful and attractive. The train at the bottom is the best bit and would be great for getting the children to draw in their own pictures and having to work out how many go on the top and how many on the bottom.
Contemporary Realistic Fiction
K
This book is an excellent early childhood reading option. It brings numbers and counting to life through its lively animations and fun storyline. All of the animals are sure to ignite any child's sense of wonder and curiosity into the world around them, and offers an excellent opportunity to practice introductory math skills. ...more
K
This book is an excellent early childhood reading option. It brings numbers and counting to life through its lively animations and fun storyline. All of the animals are sure to ignite any child's sense of wonder and curiosity into the world around them, and offers an excellent opportunity to practice introductory math skills. ...more
Gorgeous watercolor pictures highlight this 1 to 10 counting book from legendary Eric Carle. A big circus train chugs by with ten types of animals for the zoo, and readers 2-6 get to count how many are in each cage, from hippos to gators, each number of animals in each cage to go along with a certain number 1 to 10. It's pure colorful joy!
Four stars
Count to ten, and Eric Carle does it again! ...more
Four stars
Count to ten, and Eric Carle does it again! ...more
Mar 12, 2017
Shannon Futrell
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
informational-nonfiction
The book is very colorful. It exemplifies numbers as pertaining to a train carrying animals to the zoo. This book can help children learn numbers. Children will like it because of the different animals.
This wouldn’t be a book I would keep in the classroom if I taught first graders or above. However, I could keep this in the classroom if I taught kindergarteners. I liked how towards the bottom of each page it added on to the train, this allows the reader to review what all they have read.
A train takes animals to the zoo, with an increasing number on each car. It's set apart from other counting books by Carle's fun art and the lack of text, leaving it up to readers to create their own story.
...more
Lovely illustrations and clever story (with the trailers filling up along the bottom of the pages) but sometimes we found it hard to count the animals as they were quite close together and overlapping - tricky for little brains!
A good book for teaching children to count. There is not any text, so this can be used with any languages you see fit - this could be a good opportunity to increase the languages used within the classroom (especially within an early years setting).
What I love best about Eric Carle - wonderful illustrations and a simple story. This would be a fun counting book for storytime.
Oct 11, 2017
Kelly
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
childrens-picture-books,
library-book
Colorful animals on a train on their way to the zoo help the reader with numbers. Wonderful Carle book.
This could work as the basis for a kinder program
I love that this isn’t just a numbers book. It is more It is also matching numbers and pictures and counting. Super cute.
Love Eric Carle books! This one is great for learning to count.
I would recommend this book for preschoolers. They can physically count the animals on the page to see how many there are. This is an age where things have to be fun, engaging, and intriguing.
I always love Eric Carle, and this is great for the youngest or non-native speakers.
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Eric Carle (born June 25, 1929) is a children's book author and illustrator, most famous for his book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which has been translated into over 30 languages. Since The Very Hungry Caterpillar was published in 1969, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 71 million copies of his books have sold around
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