BALANCING ACT
by Ellen Stoll Walsh & illustrated by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Walsh’s latest finds her trademark mice exploring the mathematical concept of balance. With a stick and a rock, two mice make a teeter-totter and enjoy balancing…until a salamander wants to play and makes the weights uneven. Luckily, another joins him, and the teeter-totter is even again, a mouse and a salamander on each end. This pattern repeats with a pair of frogs. But then a single, large bird arrives, sending a few of the balancers catapulting into the air. The seven are able to achieve a tentative balance once again by stacking all the animals on one side and the bird on the other. But the precarious stack can’t last, and everyone hops, crawls or flies away to do something else…all but the mice, who balance once again. Fans will certainly recognize old friends in the mice, salamanders and frogs from previous outings. A white background makes the textures and bright colors in the author's cut-paper illustrations pop off the pages as well as making it easy for young readers to focus on the mathematical concept. Tips the scales in a subject area surprisingly lacking. (Picture book. 2-5)