Ten Black Dots

Why It's On Our Shelf

This book treats numbers as creative potential rather than just quantities to memorize. Two dots become eyes, five dots become buttons - the transformations are simple but they teach kids to see patterns and possibilities. What I appreciate is that it doesn't drill counting in a boring way, it shows that numbers can create things. The minimal text puts the focus on visual learning, which is exactly what very young kids need. It's the kind of math book that doesn't feel like homework, which is probably why kids actually want to read it multiple times.