LEARNING
SAMPLE
Children have been learning to identify collections of 1, 2 and 3 objects, either by counting them or recognizing them by sight as a group of that number. They are learning that the f inal number they say when counting is the quantity of the set.
Supporting children
It is important that children practise counting and recognizing groups of 1, 2 and 3 objects. There are opportunities for you to support them with these skills in this book. Look at the pictures of the animals and the bananas and help children to see the collections as quantities, either by counting together
This story is designed for an adult to read to a child.
SAMPLE
Written by Lorna Greengrass
Illustrated by Pauline Gregory
Meg the bat yawned and stretched. She swung down from her perch, glided across to the window, and stared out at Canopy City.
SAMPLE
Meg breathed in the fresh forest smells … the damp leaves hanging from the trees, the delicate scent of f lowers … and the fruit.
Look at the picture. Let’s count together. Show me on your fingers. There is one hippo, two zebras, and three birds. Is there anything else you can see one, two or three of? 3
Meg’s stomach gurgled. It was time for breakfast. ‘Hmm,’ she said to herself. ‘I think I’d like some banana pancakes.’
SAMPLE
Meg looked in her cupboard. There was one bag of f lour, two cartons of milk, and three eggs … but there were no bananas.
‘I’ll have to go and collect some,’ Meg said to herself.
1
3 SAMPLE
2
Let’s find one, two, and three and show them on our fingers: one bag of f lour, two cartons of milk, and three eggs.
Meg f lew out through the window and over her friend Gus’s house.
Developing talk and vocabular
Talking with children about maths concepts can help deepen their understanding and grow their mathematical skills. Children also benef it from hearing and using key maths vocabulary in multiple contexts. Some suggestions to support children in learning through talk have been included in this story.
Ke maths words and phrases
The following words and phrases are highlighted in bold in the book. more DETERMINER (pages 9, 14, 17) greater in number or amount
one NOUN, ADJECTIVE (pages 3, 5, 8, 9, 13, 15, 23, 24) the smallest whole number; 1
Phrase
how many
three NOUN, ADJECTIVE 17, 18, 19, 23, 24 the number 3
two NOUN, ADJECTIVE 15, 16, 23, 24) the number 2
Other useful words to talk about
ADJECTIVE fresher, freshest (page 3) cool and clean
VERB glides, gliding, glided (pages 2, 7)
To glide is to f ly or move smoothly.
ground NOUN (pages 9, 11) The ground is the solid surface of the Earth; the solid surface that you walk on outside.
SAMPLE
hang VERB (pages 3, 7)
Something hangs when it is supported from the top and does not touch the ground.
stare VERB stares, staring, stared (page 2)
If you stare at something, you keep looking at it for a long time, without moving your eyes.
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Illustrations © Pauline Gregory 2025
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available
ISBN: 978-1-382-05776-9 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Printed in the UK by Bell and Bain Ltd, Glasgow
Acknowledgements
Illustrated by Pauline Gregory
The publisher wishes to thank White Rose Maths, MK Connolly, and Voice 21 for their help in producing this book.
Series Editor MK Connolly
Written by Lorna Greengrass
Illustrated by Pauline Gregory