Zanele Sees Numbers

Jul 17, 2026

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Zanele Sees Numbers is a children's book written by Laura de Lange and illustrated by Hanrie Coetzee, designed by Arthur Attwell and edited by Catherine Deiner, with participation from the Book Dash in Grahamstown on November 12, 2016. This English math book, published by Book Dash, explores the theme of numbers being all around us, even when they are not immediately apparent. The narrative follows Zanele, who struggles to see numbers despite being told they are ubiquitous. Her grandmother Gogo tries to help by pointing to jars on a shelf, counting them as "one, two, three, four," but Zanele insists they are just jars. Similarly, her mother Mom attempts to teach her by counting carrots in the garden, but Zanele still fails to perceive them as numbers. The story continues with Zanele observing Linda counting chickens returning home, yet Zanele remains unable to connect the objects with numerical concepts, expressing frustration that they are merely chickens and not numbers. The book, released under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0), encourages commercial use and adaptation, provided copyright and credits are maintained. The ISBN is 978-1-928377-18-4. The illustrations, by Hanrie Coetzee, depict Zanele in various scenarios as she tries to understand the abstract concept of numbers in tangible objects.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time26 min

Zanele Sees Numbers

Written by Laura de Lange

Illustrated by Hanrie Coetzee

Book Dash

English

Math

FAQs

What is the main challenge Zanele faces in the story?

Zanele struggles to see numbers, even when they are pointed out to her in everyday objects.

How do Zanele's grandmother and mother try to help her see numbers?

Her grandmother Gogo counts jars, and her mother Mom counts carrots, but Zanele identifies them as objects, not numbers.

What is the overarching theme of the book?

The book addresses the abstract nature of numbers and the difficulty some children may have in recognizing them in their surroundings.

Jul 17, 2026

Upload by Logic