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Another awesome Tedd Arnold book, this one is for younger readers and teaches them counting. It also puts a scary good spin on the old nursery rhyme "five little monkeys jumping on the bed" instead of monkeys it's monsters and they won't let this little boy get any sleep! My preschoolers adore this little counting book, they beg for it again and again. ( )

This book is about 5 moster jumping on the bed, and in every page one is lost. ( )

Five Ugly Monsters is also a counting backward book, but here, there is a rhythmic poem involved. “Five Ugly Monsters jumping on the bed, one fell out and bumped his head. Called for the doctor and the doctor said, “NO MORE MONSTERS JUMPING ON THE BED!” Then it goes to four monsters, and downward until there are no more monsters in the bed, and d the poor kid can get some sleep. This reminds me of fun little musical and rhythmic poems I recited as a kid. With the rhythm and the counting, there are two levels of basic math. The pictures are silly and fun, and very cartoony, which kids love. This is definitely not a bedtime book. This is more of a, let’s get rowdy and shout, kind of book.

Even though both of these books do something similar, count backwards, they achieve totally different ends. The first seeks to put the kid to sleep, while the second is more for a group.