Count it. Sing it. Move it.

Run, Run, Run!

1 Joyful Journey from Walk to Run. Ten action verbs, paired with the numbers 1 to 10, for toddlers ages 0-4.

By Jodi Schwartz. Part of the Count & Do series.

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Front cover of Run, Run, Run! by Jodi Schwartz. Three smiling cartoon elephants in red neckerchiefs and small hats run along a dirt path, below the Count & Do series medallion. The title reads Run Run Run!, An Interactive Learning Book.

About the book

Something remarkable happens the first time a toddler runs.Run, Run, Run! is a celebration of that milestone - and an invitation to move along with it.

The story travels through ten action verbs, beginning with a careful first walk and ending in a joyful, full-speed run. Each verb arrives with its own number, so children are counting from 1 to 10 without ever being asked to sit and practice. Dogs walk. Frogs jump. Flamingos dance. Lions run. The rhythm is steady and repeating, easy to sing, and easy for a small child to predict and join.

This is a book to read standing up. It is designed so that children do not sit quietly through it - they walk, hop, spin and run alongside the pages, and then ask to do it all again.

Because so much of the meaning is carried by movement and melody rather than by complex sentences, Run, Run, Run! is a natural fit for bilingual and ESL families. Children who are new to English can act out and absorb all ten words after only a few times through the book and its song.

The ten-verb journey

One book, one journey, ten verbs - in this order, from the first walk to the final run.

  1. Illustration from Run, Run, Run! showing cartoon dogs and the words "Number 1 is walking".

    1. Walk

    Dogs lead this page.

  2. Illustration from Run, Run, Run! showing cartoon frogs and the words "Number 2 is jumping".

    2. Jump

    Frogs lead this page.

  3. Illustration from Run, Run, Run! showing cartoon seals and the words "Number 3 is spinning".

    3. Spin

    Seals lead this page.

  4. Illustration from Run, Run, Run! showing cartoon elephants and the words "Number 4 is marching".

    4. March

    Elephants lead this page.

  5. Illustration from Run, Run, Run! showing cartoon rabbits and the words "Number 5 is hopping".

    5. Hop

    Rabbits lead this page.

  6. Illustration from Run, Run, Run! showing cartoon goats and the words "Number 6 is skipping".

    6. Skip

    Goats lead this page.

  7. Illustration from Run, Run, Run! showing cartoon flamingos and the words "Number 7 is dancing".

    7. Dance

    Flamingos lead this page.

  8. Illustration from Run, Run, Run! showing cartoon birds and the words "Number 8 is flying".

    8. Fly

    Birds lead this page.

  9. Illustration from Run, Run, Run! showing cartoon penguins and the words "Number 9 is sliding".

    9. Slide

    Penguins lead this page.

  10. Illustration from Run, Run, Run! showing cartoon lions and the words "Number 10 is running".

    10. Run

    Lions lead this page.

What your child gets out of it

Ten action verbs

Action verbs are the building blocks of early sentences. Ten of them, learned through doing, gives a toddler real words to use.

Counting 1 to 10

Every verb is paired with a number, so counting is part of the story rather than a separate drill.

Movement built in

The book asks for a body, not just an attention span. That makes it useful for wiggly moments as well as quiet ones.

A song to carry it

The words are written to be sung, which makes them stick and makes re-reading a pleasure rather than a chore.

Welcoming to every family

Movement and melody cross language barriers, which makes the book an easy first-English book for bilingual and ESL households.

A milestone worth marking

Learning to run is a real achievement. This book treats it like one.

How it works

Three steps, and none of them require sitting still.

  1. Count it

    Say the number on the page out loud together. One page, one number, all the way to ten.

  2. Sing it

    Read the words in the book's natural sing-song rhythm. The repetition is what makes the verb stay.

  3. Move it

    Do the action. Walk on the walking page, hop on the hopping page. Then start again, because they will ask.

Book details

Title
Run, Run, Run!
Author
Jodi Schwartz
Series
Count & Do series
Format
Paperback
Age range
Toddlers ages 0-4
ISBN
978-1-80704-092-5
Amazon ASIN
1807040925
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Sing it, act it out, beg to read it again

Run, Run, Run! is available now on Amazon.

Buy on Amazon