AVERAGES

Srivastava does a good job of explaining the meaning of the terms mode, median and mean--an especially good job with mean considering that the process of adding up the amounts to be averaged and then dividing by their number might be beyond her readers. (Instead, she has them lay some pencils end to end, cut a string to match the length of the line, and fold the string to make as many equal lengths as there are pencils.) The lesson is consistently, effectively concrete; adults who (like us--and our dictionaries) prefer to equate average with mean might question the author's calling all three terms different kinds of averages, but we've checked and both strict and loose interpretations have their defenders in the schools.