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THE WISHING CLUB

A STORY ABOUT FRACTIONS

Four children learn about fractions when they wish on a star and only get partial wish fulfillments. Four-year-old Petey and his two-year-old brother, Joey, make the first wishes on the star, asking for a dollar. Sally, eight, thinks they are both goofy, but the next morning Petey is a quarter richer. He wishes again, while Joey asks for a cookie. Petey receives another quarter and Joey gets half a cookie. At this point, Sally and her twin Samantha get in on the wishing. But each receives only an eighth of their wish. Putting their heads together, they determine that their ages are the key, and that if they all wish for the same thing, they can get one whole. And what a wish it is! Currey’s watercolor illustrations capture the wonder and puzzlement in the children’s faces as they ponder their wishing star. She visually presents the fractional parts, as well as the number of parts required to make a whole, and adds the fractional notation. The kids’ clever way of testing their math will have teachers applauding, as will the amazing mind-stretching follow-up page, which gives readers some thought-provoking questions to further explore the concepts presented in the book. A clever concept done well. (Picture book. 5-9)

Pub Date: July 1, 2007

ISBN: 978-0-8050-7665-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2007

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DIARY OF A SPIDER

The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005

ISBN: 0-06-000153-4

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005

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HENRY AND MUDGE AND THE STARRY NIGHT

From the Henry and Mudge series

Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 1998

ISBN: 0-689-81175-6

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998

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