In this peek into the care of zoo babies, readers will learn not only about chimpanzees, but will also reinforce their math skills. In a split-page format, the reader views pictures and text about Jiggs and his growth on the right-hand pages. His story begins with his birth as a scrawny and weak baby. When his mother ignores him, he’s placed in an incubator and cared for by a human baby doctor. As he gains strength, he spends his days in the zoo nursery and his nights at the home of Cindy, a veterinary assistant. He’s later joined in the nursery by Giorgio, a jaguar cub whom he helps to care for, feed, and keep safe. As he grows older, though, he is placed back among chimpanzees. This ecological message is an important one—zoo animals are still wild animals and not pets. Left-hand pages present the math—visuals that show a graph of Jiggs’s weight gain, a timeline of his feeding schedule, the daily charts Cindy keeps of his naps, snacks, and activities, and a chart comparing Jiggs to wild chimps in the achievement of certain milestones: climbing up a branch, combing another’s fur, etc. These pages do not simply repeat information from the storyline. Readers use the math presented in order to learn more about chimps—an excellent educational method. The authors also explain how time is told, why charts are useful tools, and how graphs are read, and introduce children to a time-related vocabulary. Readers will certainly be struck by the amazing similarity between chimp and human babies. Nagda (Snake Charmer, p. 663, etc.) has done it once again, combining multiple disciplines and teaching in a non-threatening, as-you-need-it manner. Great for a future Jane Goodall and a wonderful teaching tool for elementary teachers. (Nonfiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-8050-6674-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2002
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading.
When Franklin School principal Mr. Boone announces a pet-show fundraiser, white third-grader Cody—whose lack of skill and interest in academics is matched by keen enthusiasm for and knowledge of animals—discovers his time to shine.
As with other books in this series, the children and adults are believable and well-rounded. Even the dialogue is natural—no small feat for a text easily accessible to intermediate readers. Character growth occurs, organically and believably. Students occasionally, humorously, show annoyance with teachers: “He made mad squinty eyes at Mrs. Molina, which fortunately she didn’t see.” Readers will be kept entertained by Cody’s various problems and the eventual solutions. His problems include needing to raise $10 to enter one of his nine pets in the show (he really wants to enter all of them), his troublesome dog Angus—“a dog who ate homework—actually, who ate everything and then threw up afterward”—struggles with homework, and grappling with his best friend’s apparently uncaring behavior toward a squirrel. Serious values and issues are explored with a light touch. The cheery pencil illustrations show the school’s racially diverse population as well as the memorable image of Mr. Boone wearing an elephant costume. A minor oddity: why does a child so immersed in animal facts call his male chicken a rooster but his female chickens chickens?
Another winner from Mills, equally well suited to reading aloud and independent reading. (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30223-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
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