The Mending Basket · The five-night book · ages 3-5
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Read by an AI-generated voice. The words on this page are the transcript.
One Button for Each Hole
The hammer rang once. A spark jumped off the anvil and did not go out. It waited. They followed.
Tí's coat flapped open. A button was gone!
"Let's open the basket," said Bà Tư.
The old lid had a patch. A tiny hammer was stitched on it.
Lid up, lid up.
Who can help us mend?
Tí grabbed a big handful. "Lots!"
"One for each!" said Pairo, the parrot.
Pairo put one button by each hole.
One hole had no button. All alone.
One for each. None alone.
Lid up, lid up.
Who can help us mend?
"Touch each one once," said Clutch, the hen.
One, two, three, four.
"The last number tells how many."
Four holes!
One for each. None alone.
Last number says how many.
How many buttons do we have? Can you guess?
Lid up, lid up.
Who can help us mend?
"One more!" said Wriggle. "Just one. Can you find it?"
Tí did not grab a handful this time.
He felt in the basket. Out came ONE button.
Three, and one more, makes four.
One for each. None alone.
Last number says how many.
One more makes four.
"I'll sew, you check," said Bà Tư.
Tí checked each hole. One button. One button. One button. One button.
Lid down, lid down.
Mended. The end.
The spark dimmed to a warm dot and settled back on the anvil. The Green was just the Green again.
Back on the Green
Tí put his shoes by the door. One shoe for each foot.
Now you. Find two cups and two spoons. One spoon for each cup?
For the grown-up: matching one to one comes before counting. Let your child do the matching.
Who you met
-
Bà Tư The grandmother who keeps the basket and does the sewing from VầnTots -
Tí a child of the Green Notices small things; says "again" -
Pairo Give every one its own partner, never one left on its own from PairTots -
Clutch Touch each thing once; the last number you say is how many from TallyTots -
Wriggle One more makes the next number from TallyTots
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.