What's the Matter in Mr. Whiskers' Room?
Kindergarten-Grade 3–Mr. Whiskers allows his eight students to spend the day exploring seven science centers around the classroom and on the playground. As the students experiment, they uncover "big ideas" about matter. For example, using water droppers allows them to figure out that matter takes up space, while playing with "gloop" points out that matter can be explored by using the senses. As each concept is revealed, it is displayed in the ink-and-watercolor illustrations on a bulletin board, banner, or clipboard. Although this book is not as fantastic as Joanna Cole's "Magic School Bus" stories (Scholastic), it takes a similar approach by encouraging students to learn through interacting with one another as well as with adults. Readers can follow the characters' thought processes through the narration and in dialogue bubbles. Mr. Whiskers provides a note to adults at the beginning about how students learn through exploration and again at the end by supplying information on how to create learning kits (including addresses for purchasing supplies). Although adults might be able to glean some ideas from this book, it's really more for entertainment.–Sandra Welzenbach, Villarreal Elementary School, San Antonio, TXCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.