We All Went on Safari

We All Went on Safari - This book teaches you how to count from 1-10 in Swahili! How fun is that? It's aimed at ages 4-8, but the text is simple enough that I think younger children will enjoy it too (in fact, it's a favorite of my 3 year old). The story follows a group of children through the grasslands of Tanzania where they en-count-er many different animals. The last few pages of the book contain all kinds of information, including a map and some notes on the animals featured in the book (including how to say the animals' names in Swahili). It also tells about Tanzania and the Maasai people, including the meanings of the names of the children in the book. And, if all of that isn't enough for you, when you buy this great book, a donation is made to the African Wildlife Foundation.

I was excited to discover that Ella Jenkins has a track called Counting in Swahili on her album Multicultural Children's Songs. This CD is not sold by Barefoot Books, but I wanted to mention it here because my daughter really enjoys listening to it (actually, the entire CD is wonderful) . Ella says each number and then a group of children repeats it. They go from 1-10, then do it again quickly and then once more slowly. Although many of her albums are available on E-music, this one is not. I got it from the library, but I think we will be buying our own copy.