The Baby Book Nook

Dumpty, of course, but I wasn't really asking. Jennifer Griffin takes Mother Goose out of mothballs with a honk and a waddle in her fun-filled nursery rhyme primer for parents, Humpty Who? A Crash Course in 80 Nursery Rhymes for Clueless Moms and Dads. Poems parade in alphabetical order starting with "The Alphabet Song" and ending with "Where is Thumbkin?" Short, personable notes talk about rhyme origins and offer play suggestions.  Humpty Who? is the perfect antidote for those Hmmm... what now? moments of baby's day. A 35-song CD is included. Here's an excerpt: Alice the Camel is a simple, memorable song that takes your little one on a wiggly-jiggly lap ride. Not part of the Old Mother Goose tradition, it's a contemporary number that has quickly become a classic. (Listen to the CD if you don't know the tune.) Camels are fascinating to children for their mysterious water-carrying humps- you'll start seeing them soon in children's book...

How number savvy are children at the start of school? It varies. According to the National Center for Education Statistics most first-time kindergartners can count to ten. Many can identify some single-digit numerals. A few can add and subtract. Much of what children know on that first day of school they know from home. Sooo... make your little one's day count. COUNT OUT LOUD. Kiss 10 tiny toes. One, two socks fit 1, 2 feet. One, two feet fill 1, 2 shoes. A shirt has how many buttons? At snack time, cookies disappear. Palms up. All gone! That's a number! Count wheels on a tricycle, peas in a garden pod, clouds in the sky. Twelve eggs fill a carton. Take away one for pancakes. How many does that leave? Serve up a hot stack. Hey, Mom! Tom got more pancakes than me! 'More' is an amount. Sibling rivalry or simple math? Numbers and counts are everywhere. 1, 2, 3 books teach number concepts. They come in a variety of formats for a variety of ages- board books, pop-ups, ...