November 1, 2014
Gr 4-8-Jocular titles and rhyming text aside, these slim volumes each provide short, straightforward definitions, explanations, and plentiful demonstration problems set in large print numerals. Photographs and small pictorial elements are used judiciously on pages focused on the mathematical processes. The author favors the mathematical properties-associative, commutative, distributive, identity, and others-used in addition and multiplication. Demonstrated in Magical Mathematical Properties, these properties also appear in other volumes and seem to vary in their usefulness. There's some overlap and duplication among the books, and a few-especially Statistics-suffer from brevity and density of ideas. Rhyming text, used here and there throughout, sometimes adds a light note but other times detracts from otherwise clear explanations. This series offers useful introduction and review of basic arithmetic operations, decimals, fractions, and a bit of algebra and geometry, though quality varies from book to book.
Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
October 1, 2014
Grades 3-5 This isn't the same boring old workbook, but rather one with humor, rhyming, brightly colored example problems, unfamiliar words in bold, and a variety of ways to solve and check division problems. Teachers and parents familiar only with old-fashioned long division will find that studying the several newer methods of division might help them better understand the basics and then be better able to help children through sometimes frustrating math bumps. Answers are presented upside down on the pages, and Check It Out! boxes give friendly reminders. Using the author's pre- and post-reading suggestions inside the front cover expands the benefit of the text, offering up opening questions and follow-up activities. An amiable entry into the Got Math! series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)