Dots in Books
As a riff on the Institutes’ Bits of Intelligence and How to Teach Your Baby Math programs, inspired by Joseph’s joy in looking at those dots and in reading books with simply an object and its name, I have published a few books at Blurb. They all follow the same basic design principle: Numeral and text in four languages on the left, dots on the right. This is what it looks like:
(The orange frame will not appear in the actual book; it’s from the editing program to show me that page is active.)
I’ve published three versions:
one, full-length, with dots from zero to one hundred - hardback, the one I’ve also ordered for us;
one, mid-length, with dots from zero to fifty and the tens up to one hundred - hardback, as well, and a bit cheaper;
one, short, with dots from zero to twenty and the tens up to one hundred - softcover, for the cost-conscious crowd.
I’ll post more here as soon as I know how Joseph likes them and what I think of the paper quality, and of course I’d welcome your feedback, too!
Update November 21, 2011: Joseph loves the book and will pick it out of his book collection frequently. The cover is a sturdy cardboard, which protects the pages from accidental abuse. Although Joseph can handle the pages most of the time, their thickness is perhaps almost borderline for a 17-month-old. Here’s Joseph having fun with his dots counting book:
November 5th, 2011 at 18:58
[…] As a riff on the Institutes’ Bits of Intelligence and How to Teach Your Baby Math programs, inspired by Joseph’s joy in looking at those dots and in reading books with simply an object and its name, I have published a few books counting books for children at Blurb. Visit my permanent Dots in Books page for further information! […]
November 18th, 2011 at 07:43
[…] You may already know that I self-published a simple children’s counting book because of Joseph’s interest in the dot flashcards the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential sell as their math program. We’ve now received our copy, and here’s Joseph’s reaction to his new counting book. […]
November 25th, 2011 at 09:40
[…] Joseph, besides being adept at turning pages in his counting book, also has (inadvertently) exposed a favorite parable on heaven and hell, that of the long spoons. Told as in this source, it reduces the inhabitants of both heaven and hell to an intelligence below that of a 15-month-old. Joseph knows he can get a long spoon into his mouth by simply not holding it at its handle end, but closer to the business end. The folks in the parable either starve or resort to elaborate cross-feeding schemes. […]
December 2nd, 2011 at 09:03
[…] As usual, we start with the Dots in Books. I’m happy to announce two… drum roll… likes! But who are those guys who like my counting books for children? David is the founder of jAlbum, the (free) software I use for presenting my photos. It’s because I got to beta-test their Blurb API that I published the Dots in Books with Blurb. Todd, as you can see, has a vested interest in my product selling - he works for Blurb… I guess it’s about time I return the favor and go like jAlbum! […]
December 23rd, 2011 at 23:36
[…] Another Dots in Books update: My first sale! I sold a copy of the mid-length version of my counting book for kids to the Kantonsbibliothek Baselland, where I will have to stop by one of these days to check on how it’s doing. Next step: write a bunch of libraries. […]