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The concept of a number is easiest for young children to grasp when they can count something they can see or touch. But what happens when there is nothing left?
Zero is a number, a shape, a concept, what’s left over when everything else is gone. It’s an absence of anything; it’s silence, a void. Most counting books deal with numbers beginning with one, overlooking zero.
Zero Is the Leaves on the Tree is not a counting book. Instead, it focuses solely on the concept of zero with seasonal illustrations following the school year – 0 balls in the bin at recess, 0 ducks on the pond after autumn, 0 sleds on the hill after the snow melts, 0 blossoms in early spring, 0 ripples in the pool before someone jumps in.
Arihara’s beautiful gouache illustrations featuring multi-cultural children in muted primary colors who capture the concept of zero within a child’s everyday world – at school, on a beach, in the garden, etc. A perfect read-aloud, the book should not be rushed; the illustrations and examples compel the reader to pause and reflect. Easily leading to discussion, the books begs for a child to make connections between the concept of zero and their own lives.
Although some of the vocabulary is a little difficult, the sparse text always starting with “Zero is…” lends itself to teaching word recognition, picture-clue reading, and memorization. Highly recommended.
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Zero Is the Leaves on the Tree