L. is fairly picky about his books. He absolutely loves books and loves being read to, and can often be found lugging around one or more board books to peruse in his spare time. But he has definite opinions on which books he likes and which books he doesn’t. When we sit down to read before bedtime, I hold up a book and say, “Should we read this one?” And if that particular book has not enthralled him lately, he adamantly shoves it away, making it clear that I need to pick a different one.

So when Brighter Minds Media sent me Making Numbers: A very first counting book, I didn’t know what kind of review I’d end up writing. Would it be one of those, “Well I like it, but my toddler doesn’t really care for it” type of reviews?

It turns out, there was no need to worry. Making Numbers quickly rocketed to the top of L.’s list of favorites, and he often requests it several times a day.

Making Numbers is a book that introduces kids to the numbers 1-12. Each page features a number that is indented into the page, so that the child can not only see what the number looks like, but can feel its shape with his little fingers. Each page also contains three pictures that demonstrate the number. For example, the page for number 2 has a bunny (and the words “2 ears”), a bicycle (with the words “2 wheels”), and a picture of 2 gloves.

The pictures are bright and colorful and correspond to many things in the child’s world: animals, flowers, bugs, toes, the moon. Each page is laid out in a consistently appealing manner, divided into fourths. The number is always in the upper left, with the three pictures occupying the other three sections of the page. The board book is sturdy, able to withstand a young toddler’s exploration.

I’m not going to fool myself into thinking that L., at 15 months, is grasping the concept of numbers just yet, but that hasn’t stopped him from loving the book. He enjoys feeling the shapes of the numbers and he absolutely loves the accompanying pictures. Since he’s in that stage where he wants a label for everything, the pictures are perfect for him. He points to each picture and says “Eh?”, which is my cue to tell him, “That’s a bike” or “That’s an octopus.”

I love the fact that he can enjoy Making Numbers so much now, and that it will continue to grow with him. Eventually, he’ll figure out that the numbers actually mean something, and the book will seem new all over again.

There are other books in this series, including Making Shapes and Making Letters. I think I’m going to have to pick up Making Shapes very soon, since one of L.’s favorite toys is a shape sorter.

L. and I enthusiastically recommend Making Numbers to other toddlers!