Coin Count-Y (1999)

This is a great educational tool for young children. I first discovered this book in my son s Scholastic book catalog from preschool. I ordered one & fell in love so ordered several more at an online store when they had Coin Count-y on sale. It s worth buying this book for your own children or grandchildren & it makes a wonderful gift for your child s little friends. It is designed for children ages 5-9 but I really think that children 3 & up would enjoy filling their book with coins too.

Coin Count-y is, basically, a bank in a book created by a company named innovative KIDS . When filled it holds $20.28. It consists of 10 board-thick pages each with many slots to slip pennies, nickels, dimes & quarters into. Also on each page are short rhyming verses telling what you see on that page or giving fun, educational directions (e.g., Can you find two ways to buy the marbles in the bags? Twenty-five cents is what they cost, just look right on the tags. ). Pages are very colorful, bold, interesting, & pleasing to the eyes.

Coins are not placed randomly but have a specific slot where they belong & each slot has a capital letter on the inside so children know where to put their coins. I gave Coin Count-y to my 4 year-old so it reinforced letter recognition of P , N , D , & Q .

Coin Count-y, as you might expect, teaches money skills. For example, one page shows 3 jars of candy. One jar is filled with 5 lollipops. Each lollipop has a coin slot for one penny. Therefore the lid of the jar has a slot for a nickel (the amount inside the jar is equal to $.05). The other 2 jars are arranged the same way but with different totals ($.10 & $.25). Children will learn addition as well as coin recognition.

What s Inside:
When you first open the book you see a picture of a small town with several roads. Children fill slots in each road with different types of coins that lead to different places. The penny road leads to Penny Candy Shop, dimes lead to the Five & Ten store, etc. Once you work your way down each road you can then go to that respective page further in the book:
-Pages 3 & 4 consist of the Penny Candy Shop where there are 3 jars of candy,
-Pages 5 & 6 take you inside the Five & Ten store where toys are for sale. Each toy has a price tag that corresponds to the total mount of coins your child puts in the toy,
-Pages 7 & 8 lead you to the Quarter Quarry. Here we see a bulldozer & a huge pile of rocks, each with a slot for a quarter or penny,
-Pages 9 & 10 teach children that there are many different ways to make a dollar . A character named Dollar Bill shows inside one of his lassos that 10 dimes make a dollar or, inside another lasso, that 4 quarters does the same, etc.

It is the last page where we learn that by saving coins we can make dollars & either save our money or spend it
Mixing coins add up to dollars,
here are four more ways to try.
You can put your money in a bank,
or find something to buy.


My son was so excited when I gave this book to him. He learned the names of the coins & he so enjoys saving his money. It s also a great way to hit up grandparents, aunts, & uncles when they come to visit! I know my family sometimes gives my kids money on their visits but now they can sit together & add some learning that interaction.