Lauren Ducommun

Book Review: You Count! A Five-Sense Countdown to Calm by Champ Thornton
B&H Kids, 2023
24 pages

The day You Count! arrived in the mail, I went and read this story while putting my six-year-old to bed. She preceded to ask me to read it two more times that night, and then we read it every night for a week! She loved it!

The illustrations are so fun and interactive! After reading a page, my daughter and I would follow the prompts and find the shapes or scents. Then afterwards my daughter asked to “play the game” and practice finding things from all five senses in her bedroom.

Besides being a delightful and enjoyable board book, You Count! equips young kids, and parents, with practical skills. It also teaches truths that most young kids near to hear: that God created our emotions and cares about how we feel.

Since reading this book, we’ve been able to apply it in our daily life and practice calming down and regaining self-control. I have also found that it gives me a way to respond well to the emotional ranges of young growing children. Finally, You Count! reinforces that we can bring our emotions to God and that he listens. We always count to him.

The author sent me this book for review consideration but all opinions are my own.