Puppy Playtime 1, 2, 3 by Celeste Walters

Ill. by Adele Jaunn. Little Hare, 2013. ISBN 9781742977164.
Billy the Bitzer heads to the park to look for his bone that he has hidden.But suddenly he finds himself in the company of a lot of other dogs and he gets itchy and twitchy in case someone finds it first.One is a beagle racing and chasing, 2 is a bulldog romping and stomping. . . and each time Billy the Bitzer gets more and more concerned.
Written in rhyme and repetitive text which exploits the rhythm and patterns of our language, this is a beautifully illustrated story of ten puppies on a mission - until Billy the Bitzer starts grunting and growling and one little puppy runs home to her mum, then hooting and howling, sending another one off and then another. Miss 2 loved being Bill the Bitzer shaking and quaking, yapping and snapping and joining in the refrain.
As well as the perennial appeal of puppies, this book is perfect for helping the very young child develop numeracy skills. A step on from the more traditional counting book, it is an introduction to addition as each puppy joins the search for the bone, and then subtraction as each goes home, warned off by the indomitable Billy the Bitzer.This book appeals on so many levels, it deserves its place on your shelves.
Barbara Braxton