Review by Booklist Review
Dressed as a circus ringmaster and a clown, two men arrive at a child's birthday party with a stack of pizzas, a cake, and a suitcase of supplies. During the party, they show the children the fractional expression of things around them: balloons, pizza, cake, coins, and even a game. When the seven children play musical chairs and only five of them find seats as the music stops, 5/7 of the children are seated. There's no real story here, just the opportunity to explore fractions in different ways, aided by a clearly written text and brightly colored, digitally assisted illustrations. Though the pages are sometimes a bit crowded, the graphical expressions of the fractions named in the text are very helpful in showing what the numbers actually represent. A nice addition to math collections, from the author and illustrator of You Can, Toucan, Math (2006).--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2007 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-5-Straightforward text and colorful cartoons depicting a birthday party introduce mathematical concepts. Fractions are defined as "part of something" and illustrated with examples of colored balloons, slices of pizza, pieces of cake, and coins. The same items are also used to discuss the numerator and denominator, equivalent fractions, multiples, simple addition and subtraction, and multiplying by one. The ideas are reinforced with further examples incorporating sheets of paper and paper plates that can be replicated by readers. Loreen Leedy's Fraction Action (Holiday House, 1994) presents the same basic concepts for the same age group. Adler's book could be used at home or in the classroom by students working in small groups with manipulatives. An additional purchase.-Ann Joslin, Fort LeBoef School District, Waterford, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This team's latest math-related book will be greeted with cheers by teachers everywhere. In clear, concise language, and using examples familiar to children, Adler introduces readers to fractions and makes them easy to understand through his use of repetition of vocabulary, examples and explanations, as well as hands-on activities. Beginning by introducing the concept of fractions, the text moves to using the terms "numerator" and "denominator" and next demonstrates what happens when each of these increases or decreases while the other remains constant. Readers will learn how to make equivalent fractions and how to add and subtact fractions that have the same denominator. Adler also touches on the confusing concept that 1/12th of one thing might be smaller than 1/15th of another thing. Throughout, Miller's computer artwork crisply and cleanly illustrates each concept, using a clown and magician birthday motif. An excellent resource for elementary classrooms, this should find a home in any library. (Nonfiction. 6-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
