"Two of Everything" and "One Potato, Two Potato"

Two of Everything: A Chinese Folktale
by Lily Toy Hong
An elderly Chinese couple, Mr. and Mrs. Haktak, live in poverty until they unearth a large pot from their garden. When Mrs. Haktak drops a hairpin into the pot, she reaches in to get it and finds two at the bottom. When she drops her purse containing five gold coins into the pot, it becomes two purses, each with five gold coins. The story gets really interesting when Mrs. Haktak falls in. Mr. Haktak frantically reaches for her, and pulls out two Mrs. Haktaks. An excellent resource for teaching doubles addition or multiplying by two, it is also simply a very good story that sparks the imagination of children. What would they do with a pot that doubled whatever was put in it?

One Potato, Two Potato
by Cynthia DeFelice
Pictures by Andrea U'ren
This is a later (2006) version of the same story as "Two of Everything." The pictures are very effective and this telling is more compelling somehow. Once again, the characters discover a magic pot that doubles anything placed inside. The ending is a little different: the couple decides to rebury the pot for someone else to find. These two books can be compared to develop text-to-text reading comprehension skills.

Story Props for "Two of Everything" and "One Potato, Two Potato"

"Rooster's Off to See the World" and "The Midnight Farm"

Rooster's Off to See the World (Aladdin Picture Books)
by Eric Carle
Rooster begins a journey and invites groups of animals he meets along the way: 2 cats, 3 frogs, 4 turtles, and 5 fish. As the day fades, each group of animals decides to head for home, leaving Rooster alone once more. This book provides excellent opportunities to teach counting on, addition, and subtraction accompanied by the visual treat of Eric Carle's vibrant illustrations.


The Midnight Farm (Picture Puffins)
By Reeve Lindberg
This is a beautiful counting book that presents farm and woodland animals at night for counting (1-10) all in rhyme. The illustrations are richly colored and detailed and make darkness seem soft and cozy rather than scary.


Story Props for "Rooster's Off to See the World" and The "Midnight Farm"

"Mouse Count" and "Mouse Paint"

Mouse Count is a simple but pleasing story that lends itself to teaching counting forward and backward and counting on for addition with numbers 1-10. It can also be used to practice number word reading. Ten mice, a jar and a hungry snake interact to create the plot. Use an empty clear plastic food jar, 10 furry mice and a hungry snake for the retelling.


Mouse Paint, another story involving mice by the same author, follows the exploration of 3 white mice into the world of color as they dip into paint cans and dance in paint puddles. With 3 empty cans or cups to represent paint cans, 3 white mice, and 3 mice in primary colors, the tale can begin. You may want 3 more mice in purple, orange, and green to tell the rest of the story. Oh, and did I mention that there was a black cat?


Books and Story props for "Mouse Count" and "Mouse Paint":