Smushy Bus
Grade 2-3-Seventy-six children, one school bus in for repairs, one small replacement, and one inventive driver: the numbers add up to a mathematical dilemma waiting for a solution. Enter Mr. Mathers, a driver of amazing confidence and skill who assures students and teachers that all will arrive home in time for supper. The following fantasy adventure presents math basics with most unusual manipulatives (the students) as the man calmly adds, subtracts, multiplies, and divides while he slides, stacks, and stuffs the children in-and on top of-a tiny four-seat bus. Helpful hints are given as the various students exit the bus: "Be sure to use the proper steps." "Try to remember everything you carried." "Always keep things lined up." "Always go back and check for anything you may have forgotten." In Murdocca's angled, boldly outlined, and humorous illustrations, children from various ethnic backgrounds fill the vehicle as it bounces around town. A seamlessly integrated and clearly stated math problem with an outrageously creative solution.Mary Elam, Forman Elementary School, Plano, TXCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.