6 pots + 4 pans = 10 dishes…or a feast! With the imaginative play of these creative preschoolers, exploring the concepts of categorization and adding up to 10 has never been so much fun.

If you ask a grown-up to add up 8 cars + 2 trucks, they’ll probably say that’s 10 vehicles. And it’s true. But these 10 young friends know what else those things add up to: a race! What will they do with 7 robes + 3 capes? Or 6 pots + 4 pans? 10 simple objects can have infinite possibilities.

Previously in the Big, Little Concepts series, author Victoria Allenby packaged important kindergarten readiness skills in preschooler-perfect books, featuring shape recognition in Shape Up, Construction Trucks and sound and rhythm in Listen Up! Train Song. In Let’s Add Up!, aided by the sweet and lively illustrations of Maggie Zeng, she cleverly tucks lessons on categorization and all the ways to compose the number 10 into a playdate full of enticing imagination and creative play. A closing note to caregivers offers enriching, age-appropriate activities to keep building their child’s foundational learning skills. After all, 5 story time snuggles + 5 more = 10 opportunities to build lifelong learning!

Victoria Allenby has been writing poetry and stories for as long as she can remember. Her debut picture book, Nat the Cat Can Sleep Like That, won the 2014 Preschool Reads Award and was nominated for the 2015 SYRCA Shining Willow Award. She has followed up the success of this debut with the critically acclaimed early readers Timo's Garden, Timo's Party, and Timo Goes Camping, as well as several picture books, including Shape Up, Construction Trucks! which has earned multiple starred reviews, and the 2021 title Listen Up! Train Song. Victoria lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Victoria Allenby's profile page

Maggie Zeng is a children’s book illustrator, graphic designer, concept artist, and animator.

Born in Montreal, she attends Concordia University and previously received the Outstanding Achievement Award in Applied Arts Technologies at Dawson College. Maggie loves making story-driven illustrations that convey a feeling of adventure and wonder through fun characters and magical environments. Her first picture book is This is the Boat That Ben Built.

Maggie Zeng's profile page

Praise for Let's Add Up!

2023 School Library Journal “14 Fiction and Nonfiction Books to Celebrate Pi Day” Selection

2022 The Children’s Book Council “November: Hot Off the Press” feature

“Simple math problems are lively and fun in this sweet picture book that shows all the different ways to add up to 10, then goes one step beyond….A note to adults suggests four ways to make learning foundational early math skills fun with a child….Add this book to all early childhood collections, and watch the math come out”—School Library Journal

“8 + 2 becomes more than just numbers in this invitation to think outside the worksheet…Allenby turns arithmetic into play…The author supplies caregivers with further enrichment activities designed to stretch counting and classification skills at the end, and Zeng’s expressively posed children are having so much fun throughout that readers will jump at the chance to join in… Teachers and parents can count on an enthusiastic response from younger audiences.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Join a group of young children as they add to ten in creative ways with this math-themed picture book….This is a great book for introducing or reinforcing early math skills at home or in a preschool classroom….Reviewer Rating: 5”—Children’s Literature

“[Victoria Allenby] has the knack to put delight in discovery…. she takes children’s thinking to another level….Let’s Add Up! can be a useful addition to a childcare centre as well as a home collection. It will create opportunities for children and adults to have many shared experiences while giving children skills and learning that will last. Highly Recommended”—CM Magazine

“The author uses easy, simple words that are easy for young children to understand, but not so simple that it is a chore for a parent to read aloud. The illustrations are cute and vivid, and they provide that necessary step for visual learners…Let's Add Up! would be a great addition to any beginner reading/counter library - whether at home or a school setting.” —YA Books Central

“[T]he perfect early learning book to get readers excited about numbers….Maggie Zeng’s illustrations are inclusive and full of joy….There are very few math focused picture books available to readers and educators to foster not only a love of reading but also a love of numbers. Victoria Allenby has found a gap in the toolkit and has filled it with Let’s Add Up!”—Storytime with Stephanie

“[A] frolicking romp counting to 10…. Fun to count and read (and then have a party!) with a Kindergarten class.”—The International Educator

“5 out of 5 stars….This is such a cute book! It makes learning addition easy because each page is such a clear visual representation of the arithmetic that is happening.….I loved the adorable illustrations, and I really appreciated that the children on each page are from diverse ethnicities and abilities.”—Luminous Libro

“[A] fun concept that shows more than math skills. At the end of the book, Allenby offers four ways to make learning fun.”—Book Time