Why do I need to remind our 14-year-old of his multiplication tables? He’s “on level”, got a B in eighth-grade math, but I’m still reminding him of what 8 x 8 or what 64 divided by 8 is. Something is amiss in the state of middle school mathematics. Lot and Lots of Ocelots: A Skip Counting Book does not have this problem. If anything, Lots and Lots of Ocelots is the pre-school and early-elementary school- kryptonite to a problem that could vex kids in four-to-seven years.
Skip counting is necessary for making math easier. The quicker young ages can count by twos, threes, fours, fives, and so on, the faster they’ll be able to add, subtract, find the greatest or lowest common denominators. Of course they will, that’s a given truth. However, the unrealized consequences of not learning them as quickly as their peers won’t rear their head for half a decade or longer.
Exhibit one, our recently graduated from middle school son. Graduating from middle school is a con. Those students who don’t know the material are pushed ahead regardless of their grades or understanding of the content. Some countries have a parallel track that mirrors a trade school, or the basics of that, once kids hit their lower teen years. They don’t test well enough to continue traditional high school, and that’s ok. Are you aware of how much the plumber, AC specialists or car repair person makes annually?
If a kid going into high school doesn’t know their LCD or GCM it’s not a signal that they need to forfeit high school success. It’s simply a case where they didn’t catch on as quickly as their peers. The great thing about teaching math is that it’s a learned skill and can be done by anyone, so long as they practice.
Lots and Lots of Ocelots: A Skip Counting Book is effective at communicating with the younger kids in its demographic, as well as, the older ones who are in elementary school. The book operates on two different levels simultaneously. The first is the larger font version that complements the illustration. The book briefly introduces skip counting via a friendly ocelot. It’s jumping along a number line and provides a big picture overview.
When you turn the page you’ll see seven ocelots. They’re individually counted and have a paragraph introducing young audiences to the animal. Turn the page again and you’ll see five pairs of cockatoos. Each pair is grouped off, with a paragraph about them. There’s a natural pacing to the book where it doesn’t keep going, but is broken off into two parts. The second part starts off with counting six giant toads. Eight manta rays can be counted by ones, twos or fours. 50 tufted jays and garden snails can be counted by ones, fives or tens. The 100 honeybees end the illustrated portion of the book and can be skip-counted in any way that young readers have practiced up to this point.
OK, but turn the page again, and you’ll see a number line counting up to 50. This time, three animals are jumping about, with the frog going two spaces, the ocelot jumping five spaces and a kangaroo bouncing 10 spaces. The final two pages have a review of skip counting for older readers and a number chart that young readers can interpret themselves.
Lots and Lots of Ocelots is a fun book, it’s also a very educational book that does so with minimal effort. The name of the book will instinctively reel in young audiences. They don’t know what an ocelot is, but they know that the book’s title rhymes. They also know that any book with a rhyming title is all but guaranteed to be fun, and Lots and Lots of Ocelots doesn’t disappoint there.
Lots and Lots of Ocelots: A Skip Counting Book is by Vicky Fang with illustrations by Angel Chang and is available on Workman Kids.
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