One fine morning, a rooster decided he wanted to travel.
In this mini-book edition, using strikingly designed, colorful collage
illustrations and a beguiling simple text, Eric Carle takes his young
readers on a trip with the rooster and his companions. As he travels,
the rooster is joined by two cats, three frogs, four turtles, and five
fish, offering the child a graphic introduction to the meaning of
numbers, number sets, and addition within the context of an entertaining
story. When night falls, the rooster's friends find he has made no
provisions for their food or shelter and, disappointed, they abandon the
expedition--once again in sets of five, four, three, and two, but this
time in a declining series. Finally the rooster, too, decides that he
has seen enough of the world and that he is, in fact, a little bit
homesick. Eric Carle believes in letting children make learning
discoveries at their own pace. This book can be read and enjoyed for its
story and its beautiful illustrations alone; however, the child who is
ready to begin to think mathematically will find additional pleasures in
the opportunities presented in the text, the pictures and the diagrams
for learning basic arithmetic concepts.