Pastry School in Paris: An Adventure in Capacity
Grade 1–3—Twins Matt and Bibi return in another math-and-travel adventure. This time they trek with their family, and the dog, to Paris, where they visit the pastry academy Les Jumelles Coccinelle. (Oddly, no English translation of the name is woven into the story, and its clever double entendre will be lost on most readers without a French dictionary handy.) Chef Celine puts the twins in charge of liquids, setting in motion, via conversational text and bold, bright, and amusing watercolor illustrations, basic lessons in American standard and metric liquid measurement. When the Inspector General of French cooking schools suddenly announces a visit, the siblings save the day by employing their newfound knowledge of volume measurements (and Riley's tail) to whip up a winning, unusual ice cream.C'est magnifique!While children will enjoy the twins' slapstick culinary adventures and take in a miniature math lesson with Parisian flair in the bargain, this title will be most useful as a supplemental, more literacy-focused addition to capacity measurement units. An endnote offers adults numerous (and more realistic) ideas for activities.—Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VTCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.