My First Canadian 123

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

These colorful board books with their clearly labeled photographs are
excellent choices for baby’s first (as the titles indicate) ABC and
counting books. Attractively designed and sturdily bound, they are just
the right size to fit in a small pair of hands.

My First Canadian ABC gives numerous examples of items beginning with
each letter of the alphabet. Lowercase letters are used throughout. Both
soft and hard vowel sounds are included (elephant and easel, umbrella
and unicorn) and in some cases examples containing blended consonants
are given (wheel, shovel). It is unfortunate that the airplane
illustrating the letter “a” is from the British Airways fleet rather
than Air Canada’s.

My First Canadian 123 uses everyday objects such as shoes, flowers,
cupcakes, and so forth to illustrate the concepts of 1 to 10, then skips
to 20, 50, and 100. The latter part of the book puts young readers to
work with several activities designed to reinforce counting skills. Both
books are recommended.