← The Green

The Mending Basket · ages 3-5

One Button for Each Hole

The idea: one button for each hole; count, then one more.

Read it

Five nights, one book

Little children love the same story again. Read this one five nights running, with a different job each night.

  1. listen.
  2. say the last words.
  3. make the guess.
  4. do the 'now you' in the room.
  5. tell it to a toy.

Who is in this book

Every recurring character has a short tune, so you can tell who is on stage before a word is said. The tunes play only when you tap, and the Reading Access sound switch turns them off.

The Honest Page

Which parts of this story are true, stretched or made up?

True

  • Matching one thing to one thing is how children learn that two groups are the same size. Source
  • When you touch each thing once, the last number you say tells how many there are.
  • Three and one more make four.

Stretched

  • Real coats often have spare buttons sewn inside. What we simplified: In the story the spare is in the basket, so the friends can find it.

Made up

  • Pairo, Clutch and Wriggle are made up. Buttons and baskets do not talk.

Tell it back

Tell the story to a toy, or to a grown-up. When you have, the grown-up taps the button, and a keepsake from One Button for Each Hole goes on your belt.

Ring the hammer for someone

Pick this book for someone younger. The link carries only the book, and it will wait for them on the Green.

Across the Table → For the grown-up: the story in three lines, one question to ask, and one thing to do together.