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Books come from Book Dash, African Storybook / Storybooks Canada and Pratham Books. Source and language details vary by edition. Age, theme and reading prompts are editorial suggestions. Little Leaf is independent of these organizations.

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Zanele sees numbers

There are numbers everywhere, but Zanele can’t see them.

Suggested age: 4–6岁 · Reading level L2 · 18 illustrated pages

Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 1, English text included

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This book can be read page by page, heard with synthetic Voice 7 narration, downloaded and printed. Enable JavaScript for the interactive reader, or open the story pages below.

There are numbers everywhere, but Zanele can’t see them.

Read all 18 story pages
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 1, English text included
Zanele sees numbers
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 2, English text included
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 3, English text included
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 4, English text included
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 5, English text included
Everyone tells Zanele that numbers are all around her. But no matter how hard she tries, she can't see them.
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 6, English text included
Zanele asks Gogo to help her see some numbers. Gogo points to the jars on the shelf and counts, "one, two, three, four."
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 7, English text included
But Zanele is unhappy. "Those aren't numbers. Those are jars!"
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 8, English text included
Zanele asks Mom to help her see some numbers. Mom points to the carrots in the garden and counts, "one, two, three, four."
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 9, English text included
But Zanele is unhappy. "Those aren't numbers. Those are carrots!"
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 10, English text included
Zanele sees Linda counting the chickens, to see if they have all come back home.
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 11, English text included
But Zanele is unhappy. "Those aren't numbers. Those are chickens!"
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 12, English text included
Zanele sees Auntie counting the hours until supper.
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 13, English text included
But Zanele is unhappy. "Those aren't numbers. Those are hours!"
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 14, English text included
Zanele can't see the numbers in the world. She goes to speak to her sister, Gugu, who is eight years old and knows everything.
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 15, English text included
"If you look at anything in the right way, you can see a number in it," says Gugu. Gugu gives Zanele a pair of magic glasses and tells her to go look for numbers in the world.
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 16, English text included
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 17, English text included
Zanele sees numbers — original illustrated page 18, English text included

Creators and open license

Written by
Laura de Lange
Illustrated by
Hanrie Coetzee
Created by
Laura de Lange (Writer); Hanrie Coetzee (Illustrator); Catherine Parkinson (Editor); Arthur Attwell (Designer)

Source: Book Dash
Original: Zanele sees numbers from Book Dash
License: CC BY 4.0

Original illustrated spreads and embedded English story text preserved; website layout and printable PDF assembled by Little Leaf. Age, level, theme and recommendation are editorial suggestions. Web and printable layout adapted by Little Leaf. Age and reading-level suggestions are editorial. Original stories and artwork belong to their credited creators. Website narration uses the selected synthetic Voice 7.