By Barbara Mariconda with illustration by Sherry Rogers
Sylvan Dell, $ 8.95, 32 pages
ISBN 9781607180852

Some of the most powerful moments in teaching small children occur when learning happens as a natural extension of having fun. For that reason, Barbara Mariconda’s Ten for Me is a wonderful find.
In this slim book, Rose and Ed have a friendly competition as they tally the number of butterflies they catch and release over ten days. As they record their results, Rose and Ed inadvertently discover all of the addition facts totaling ten. All of this is told in delightful rhyme with charming illustrations. (The depiction of Rose’s outfit is particularly humorous.)

To add a cross-curricular element, pages of Rose and Ed’s butterfly manual fall open to reveal interesting facts about butterflies throughout the story. Finally, the last four pages of the text contain activities to extend the learning opportunities, including numbers and patterns and butterfly body parts, life cycle, and identification. Additional activities and teaching resources can be found on the publisher’s Web site included in the book.

Ten for Me is a fun, little story that makes addition facts and nature study fun.

Reviewed by Annie Peters