WUMBERS are 1derful for young readers!

“What do you get when you combine a word with a number? A wumber!” Wumbers  is one of my new favorite picture books at the Orion Township Public Library. It's wri10 by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustr8ed by Tom Lichtenheld, the dynamic duo who made Duck! Rabbit! and other books I love passion8ly. With Wumbers, kids have 2 pay at10tion to the sound of the number word to figure out how to read the wumber. 1ce your kids get the gist of it, they’ll want 2 make up wumbers of their own!

Because Wumbers focuses kids’ attention on the small sounds in words, it’s an ideal book to teach phonological awareness, a skill kids need to read fluently. Distinguishing the numbers from the letters in the words reinforces number and letter recognition. 1 book for 2 reading skills = 4tunate kids and gr8ful parents!

As you read Wumbers to your kids, call at10tion first to the way the wumber looks. What number is mixed with letters to make a new word? 1ce kids identify the number, say it out loud a few times, then blend the number name with the other letters slowly. Let kids have the thrill of calling out the wumber. It7ly! (Get it – it’s heavenly? Ok, I’m still working on a good one for 7.)

Because she is genius, Amy Krouse Rosenthal has a free activities kit available through her website: whoisamy.com. If you and your kids come up with some 1derful wumbers, come to the Orion Library and tell me! 2gether we will celebr8 Wumbers!

For more about the illustrator, please visit tomlichtenheld.com.

For more book recommendations and activities, please visit kristenremenar.com. 

Kristen Remenar is a Youth Services Librarian at the Orion Township Public Library. She loves cre8ive picture books like Wumbers.