Is there such a thing as pre- abstract-algebra books? I am taking Abstract Algebra now and it seems most of its examples come from elsewhere. For example, I know what permutations are in counting, but the kind Algebra studies seem to be somewhat different. And to me these concepts Algebra comes bundled with is the most difficult part of studying it. It's like studying Calculus without knowing anything in elementary algebra. Doable, but difficult. 
What are some books I could study to close the gaps? 

There might be, but a huge chunk of abstract algebra IS those examples. Learning about permutations (which are exactly what you know) with this language IS abstract algebra. A huge part of abstract algebra is knowing many different examples, things that you might not see elsewhere.
Although for a gentle introduction, Pinter is nice. 
