Offers readers something to chew on, if only a mathematical morsel.
Wordplay adds a droll element to this very basic introduction to a fundamental algebraic concept.
In cartoon illustrations, a marmalade cat, a koala, and other cute animals invite viewers to count up small groups of common items and then add them together. Things quickly turn tricky when the items aren’t the same sort. Do three bikes and four scooters add up to…seven “BOOTERS”? “NO!” howls the critter chorus. “BIKES and SCOOTERS don’t mix!” Well then, might one orange and two apples be three “ORPLES”? And would five tomatoes, two carrots, and three carrots be “the same as 10 CARATOES?” “NO!” Plainly, all the carrots stay carrots and the tomatoes remain tomatoes. Likewise, as Stephens explains in smaller type at the end, algebraic expressions can’t be combined if they’re different kinds. The author gets no further than that basic principle but does close with a suggestion for parents that this lesson will serve as a familiar starting point when readers encounter algebra again in high school (or perhaps even sooner). Younger audiences will enjoy the shouting and silly talk, even if only proto-mathletes actually grasp the lesson.
Offers readers something to chew on, if only a mathematical morsel. (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781761111693
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Wombat Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy.
Robo-parents Diode and Lugnut present daughter Cathode with a new little brother—who requires, unfortunately, some assembly.
Arriving in pieces from some mechanistic version of Ikea, little Flange turns out to be a cute but complicated tyke who immediately falls apart…and then rockets uncontrollably about the room after an overconfident uncle tinkers with his basic design. As a squad of helpline techies and bevies of neighbors bearing sludge cake and like treats roll in, the cluttered and increasingly crowded scene deteriorates into madcap chaos—until at last Cath, with help from Roomba-like robodog Sprocket, stages an intervention by whisking the hapless new arrival off to a backyard workshop for a proper assembly and software update. “You’re such a good big sister!” warbles her frazzled mom. Wiesner’s robots display his characteristic clean lines and even hues but endearingly look like vaguely anthropomorphic piles of random jet-engine parts and old vacuum cleaners loosely connected by joints of armored cable. They roll hither and thither through neatly squared-off panels and pages in infectiously comical dismay. Even the end’s domestic tranquility lasts only until Cathode spots the little box buried in the bigger one’s packing material: “TWINS!” (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 52% of actual size.)
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-544-98731-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
Sure to “net” young audiences, who will definitely root for the birds.
A peace-waging parable, presented with wry minimalism à la Jon Klassen or Tomi Ungerer.
Carrying nets, three hunters creep up on a sleeping bird in a dark forest, but thanks to their own clumsiness, they repeatedly manage to get in one another’s way as the bird slips off. Meanwhile, despite their frantic shushing, a smaller, fourth figure waves and calls out “hello birdie,” offering bread. Soon, an entire flock has gathered around number four’s feet—a flock that proceeds to turn and chase the hunters away. The text runs to just a few words per page, but it neatly serves to crank up the suspense: “ready one / ready two / ready three… // GO!” Haughton (Oh No, George!, 2012) uses a palette of deep blues and purples for his simple forest scenes; this causes the hunters’ googly eyes to stand out comically and also makes the fuchsia, red and orange birds easy to spot and follow. Last seen creeping up on a squirrel, the hunters have plainly learned nothing from their experience…but young readers might.
Sure to “net” young audiences, who will definitely root for the birds. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7293-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
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