More contrived than other books addressing the same concept; still, the familiar characters may help readers take the lesson...
The latest in Neuschwander’s medieval mathematical series explores bar graphs and pie charts.
When the royal cook falls ill, Lady Di of Ameter and her husband, Sir Cumference, must not only judge the Harvest Faire sweet contest, but also find bakers to bake the confections. Luckily, their town boasts two bakers: Pia of Chartres and Bart Graf. But their desserts are so good the royal couple cannot choose one over the other. They instruct the pair to give away free samples of their top sellers and keep track of the townspeople’s votes. After several (repetitive) attempts at keeping track of votes fail, each comes up with a recording system that works. Bart makes piles of cookie molds—one for each vote—while Pia places a different colored sweetmeat around the edges of a pie crust. In the end, the two present their findings—a bar graph and a pie chart showing a tie for first—to the rulers, along with a new dessert they concocted together, a clear winner. Geehan’s acrylic illustrations play up the stereotypical medieval clothing and setting, both he and the author eschewing accuracy for the storyline.
More contrived than other books addressing the same concept; still, the familiar characters may help readers take the lesson to heart. (Math picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-57091-198-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: June 14, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
Visually evocative of time and place but spoiled by apparently incomplete research and debatable historical claims.
Italy’s famous horse race, the Palio di Siena, serves as background for a medieval child’s first experience with a banker.
Both the race and banking are misrepresented here. Concerned that the toy he’s persuaded his papa to buy will be damaged by the festive crowds, Enzo asks a money-changer seated at his banco (table) to mind it—then manages to lose the essential receipt. Enzo frets, but (in an ending that is likely to excite skepticism in modern, or at least adult, readers) after the race’s wild celebrations, the grave graybeard gives the toy back anyway. Landmann’s illustrations, done in Renaissance Sienese style, outclass the sketchy storyline with scenes of cocked-headed, olive-skinned figures in elegant period robes placed in narrow medieval streets decked with simplified flags of the localities, the contrade, that compete in the event to this day. Still, even she gives the money-changer a cash box but neither ledger nor scales. In closing notes the author conflates the modern Palio with its medieval predecessors and makes a decidedly arguable claim that modern banking is a Sienese invention.
Visually evocative of time and place but spoiled by apparently incomplete research and debatable historical claims. (afterword, timeline) (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5474-2
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
Teachers will have field day with this wordplay; this caper is clever, capricious, and cunning.
Help! All of the words in Noah Webster’s dictionary are bored, so they make a break for it and the word parade begins.
Welcome to Hollyword, land of anthropomorphic words. The self-centered I is the grand marshal, together with the 34-letter “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” (hyphenated three times to fit on the page). “The action verbs LOVE to show off” (there are “bounce,” “spin,” “ricochet,” and “jump,” among others). The “no-action contractions NEED SOME HELP,” as they’re a pretty defeatist bunch: “he couldn’t,” “she won’t,” “we didn’t.” Homophones tango by twos and threes, and “archaic words strut their SHAKESPEARE” with yummy entries such as “Garboil,” “Pismire,” “Sackbut,” and “Yerk.” (A closing glossary helps with these and other unfamiliar words.) Anagrams, antonyms, palindromes, rhyming words, conjunctions, and interjections also each have a double-page spread, the lively letters acting out the definitions. The palette of the digital illustrations uses orange, turquoise, and olive green to highlight the actions. Eye dots, smile lines, and wiggly arms and legs animate the letters. Exuberant and energetic design enlivens the letters as they bounce and frolic across the pages, minimalist compositions adding occasional details to amp up the fun: a crocodile-green “Nile” floats down a river; the A in “READ” holds open a book for its neighboring letters to enjoy.
Teachers will have field day with this wordplay; this caper is clever, capricious, and cunning. (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Jan. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8004-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2017
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