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PATTERNS IN PERU

Name: PATTERNS IN PERU
Author: Cindy Neuschwander
ISBN: 0-8050-7954-8

AN ADVENTURE IN PATTERNING

by Cindy Neuschwander & illustrated by Bryan Langdo ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2007

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This latest mathematical adventure explores patterning. Matt and Bibi are in Peru so their scientist parents can help decode the patterns on a 500-year-old tunic. All the adventure-loving twins need to hear is that the tunic belonged to the messenger of a never-discovered hidden city, and they are off and running. Riding on guanacos high in the mountains, the only thing Matt can find to keep him warm is the aforementioned tunic. Rather fortuitous, as the patterns on the tunic help them survive pitfalls along the way, while the last two patterns are the key to unlocking the city’s doors. Langdo’s vibrantly colored watercolors support the text, but are not enough to help readers decipher the last pattern. Focusing on repeating, positional and growing patterns, this would benefit from more examples since the story overwhelms the math. A final note provides ideas for activities to practice patterning. Similar flaws mar all the books in this series, this being no exception: lack of adult supervision, disregard for artifacts and the twins’ reliance on pure luck to save the day. All in all a disappointment, although it does fill a gap in the shelf for this concept. (Picture book. 6-9)

Pub Date: April 1, 2007

ISBN: 0-8050-7954-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2007

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
SIR CUMFERENCE AND THE OFF-THE-CHARTS DESSERT
by Cindy Neuschwander ; illustrated by Wayne Geehan

- BOOK REVIEW
PASTRY SCHOOL IN PARIS
by Cindy Neuschwander and illustrated by Bryan Langdo

- BOOK REVIEW
MUMMY MATH
by Cindy Neuschwander & illustrated by Bryan Langdo

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RAPUNZEL

adapted by Rachel Isadora & illustrated by Rachel Isadora ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2008

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Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your dreads! Isadora once again plies her hand using colorful, textured collages to depict her fourth fairy tale relocated to Africa. The narrative follows the basic story line: Taken by an evil sorceress at birth, Rapunzel is imprisoned in a tower; Rapunzel and the prince “get married” in the tower and she gets pregnant. The sorceress cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and tricks the prince, who throws himself from the tower and is blinded by thorns. The terse ending states: “The prince led Rapunzel and their twins to his kingdom, where they were received with great joy and lived happily every after.” Facial features, clothing, dreadlocks, vultures and the prince riding a zebra convey a generic African setting, but at times, the mixture of patterns and textures obfuscates the scenes. The textile and grain characteristic of the hewn art lacks the elegant romance of Zelinksy’s Caldecott version. Not a first purchase, but useful in comparing renditions to incorporate a multicultural aspect. (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2008

ISBN: 978-0-399-24772-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2008

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
DO I HAVE TO WEAR A COAT?
by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora

- BOOK REVIEW
MY DOG LAUGHS
by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora

- BOOK REVIEW
I JUST WANT TO SAY GOOD NIGHT
by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora

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KEENA FORD AND THE FIELD TRIP MIX-UP

by Melissa Thomson and illustrated by Frank Morrison ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2009

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Keena Ford’s second-grade class is taking a field trip to the United States Capitol. This good-hearted girl works hard to behave, but her impulsive decisions have a way of backfiring, no matter how hard she tries to do the right thing. In this second book in a series, Keena cuts off one of her braids and later causes a congressman to fall down the stairs. The first-person journal format is a stretch—most second graders can barely write, let alone tell every detail of three days of her life. Children will wonder how Keena can cut one of her “two thick braids” all the way off by pretend-snipping in the air. They will be further confused because the cover art clearly shows Keena with a completely different hairdo on the field trip than the one described. Though a strong African-American heroine is most welcome in chapter books and Keena and her family are likable and realistic, this series needs more polish before Keena writes about her next month in school. (Fiction. 6-9)