Independent reading level- kindergarten

Eric Carle's art can be striking, but here it seems as pedestrian as the minimalist story wherein he draws barely there train cars filled with increasing numbers of zoo animals. There's a mouse hiding on each page, but it doesn't do much but give kids a mouse to search for on each page -- there's no clever integration to speak of or a payoff of any sort. ( )

Very basic picture book. Has a counting by ones element that would make this book good for preschool or kindergarten. Would be easy to do an art project with this book. In the book there are zoo animals that go up by one each page, students could replicate the picture and counting element. ( )

Eric Carle certainly needs no introduction from me, but this book seems to be one of his less well-known works. His classic illustrations take primary importance as this is a wordless book - at least, there's nothing specified to say aloud. Instead, this book is a great opportunity for young readers to become active participants by identifying numbers 1-10 and counting the different animals on their way to the zoo. A charming touch is the bottom of each page spread where you can keep track of which animals have joined the train already. The end of the book features a lively illustration of all the animals in their exhibits at the zoo and the now empty train. My daughter is 4.5 and has known her numbers for a while, but still loves reading this book.

A quick, fun, and easy-to-read colorful madness. ( )