You Can, Toucan, Math: Word Problem-Solving Fun
Grade 2-4–From Crows in Rows to Obese Geese, this title presents a flock of bird-themed rhyming word problems. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division tables conveniently cover the endpapers, and a brief introduction to each mathematical function is provided on the first spread. Miller's festive, computer-generated illustrations give the book a retro look and jazz up the sometimes-forced, occasionally bland rhymes. The word problems are also somewhat repetitive. While this book is undoubtedly more enticing than worksheets, other titles do more to inspire and teach children. Jon Scieszka'sMath Curse(Viking, 1995), for example, is a much better choice for making math fun and stretching kids' critical-thinking skills, while Greg Tang'sThe Grapes of Math(Scholastic, 2001) seamlessly embeds problem-solving strategies right into the (much more fluid and funny) rhymes. Still, Adler's offering is a suitable addition to collections in need of another math picture book.–Jill Heritage Maza, Greenwich High School, CTCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to theLibrary Bindingedition.