THE GREAT GRAPH CONTEST

Leedy makes graphing simple and fun in this delightfully clever outing. Gonk the toad and Beezy the lizard cannot agree on whose graphs are the best, so Chester the snail proposes a contest. He will judge his friends’ work on creativity, neatness and the use of correct math. All around the neighborhood the trio find things to graph—rocks, cookies, bathing suits, butterflies, hatching eggs and flower shoppers. Each contestant grows progressively worried as his opponent creates more creative and complex graphs. Chester gets the bug in the end and presents his scores as a graph. Beginning with quantity and bar graphs, the two also experiment with Venn diagrams and circle graphs. All include the essential parts of a title and labels, and for those with marked quantities, the text emphasizes the need for equal spacing/sizing. Well-crafted explanations make it easy for young readers to create their own graphs. The artwork is a combination of real photos and cartoon-ish illustrations (complete with speech bubbles), making the objects pop off the pages and creating interesting contrasts. Highly educational and fun to boot. (Picture book. 4-10)