The girls received some really fabulous books for Christmas one in particular from their Aunt and Uncle – is a counting book, but not what you might expect.

Over at the Castle by Boni Ashburn with illustrations by Kelly Murphy is a story all about patience and counting.  This is a story that is so much fun to read, it has a very lyrical property based on the folk song ‘Over the Meadow’ and the counting that takes place is almost like a scavenger hunt for the petites.  It all starts out as an a mother dragon and her little one are sitting in the sun.  The counting continues and is a fun look at castle life.  It continues through their day and ends with a very unexpected ending.  I love the smooth illustrations, how the little dragon is clearly excited for something to happen all day and has to patiently wait while watching all that is happening at the castle below.  My petite commented on how it would be hard to wait all day for something fun to happen.

The next book I wanted to share with you is also a counting book about a more an urban dragon.

In Have You Seen My Dragon? by Steve Light you will find a charming protagonist as he searches the city for his missing and quite mischievous dragon.  The illustrations in this book, especially of the dragon have a Celtic feel to them.  The city scape that Steve Light has created is so detailed and intricate, you cannot possibly see all that there is to see in one reading.

Another aspect that my girls enjoyed is the items that you are counting, the dragon and protagonist are the only items that are in color in the book.  Making finding the busses or hot dogs all the more easy for tinnier petites.  I love this story, I think it’s brilliantly illustrated.

Perfectly Paired

These books would be perfectly paired with any of these amazing building block sets.

Plan Toys Fairy Tale Blocks A few years ago the petite received this really fun building block set from her Auntie, this building set is from Plan Toys, if you haven’t heard about these toys here is why they are fabulous:

PlanToys® is not only well-known for the first company in the world to manufacture wooden toys from preservative-free rubberwood, it is one of the leading company to create new material and process to minimize waste up to zero.

I love a toy company that has a mission like this, that is making really great toys, that last, kids love and are good for the environment.  The girls love these blocks and have had hours of time building and playing with them.  There are tons of really special block sets to suit your petites building needs. Plan Toys Fantasy Blocks or Plan Toys Castle Blocks

The girls do a lot of building and we have looked into adding to their current collection of blocks.  One of the sets that we found that we wanted to get on the floor and play with are from TreeHaus. Treehaus Wood Castle Blocks

I love it when a new book is introduced to the petites and they immediately want to go and embark on an activity, whether it is drawing or building with blocks.  These two books are inspiring and will surely inspire your petites to create something grand.