(3) PS Illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman. Five little penguins sit on the ice; the first three penguins make pleasantries ("Today feels very nice!" and so on) until the fourth and fifth penguins notice a seal: "He wants us for a meal!" The seal gives chase until the reveal that it just wants to play tag. Digitally illustrated in icy blues, this is a lively Antarctic twist on "The Five Little Pumpkins" rhyme.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tim Nihoff. This volume walks readers through types of subtraction by exploring sets, more than and less than, and single- and double-digit subtraction. Traditional methods (i.e., borrowing and carrying) are used to teach double-digit subtraction. While the main text uses lively rhyme, the candy-colored bears also give clues and tips via dialogue bubbles. McGrath's series continues to be a good resource for classrooms and small-group instruction.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tim Nihoff. The candy-colored bears return for another rhyming mathematical jaunt. Readers are asked to first sort, then estimate, and finally add together groups of bears; both single- and double-digit addition is explained, as well as how to set up an addition problem. Word bubbles from the teddies give further instruction and more information. Good for classroom use and small group instruction.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tim Nihoff. The brightly colored bears from Teddy Bear Math help children learn about another staple in early-elementary curriculum. After sorting the teddies by color, the patterns get more complex as the book progresses; rhyming stanzas (in a pattern, too!) walk readers through creating each pattern and also encourage kids to make up their own. This book would work well in a small interactive group.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tim Nihoff. Brightly colored teddy bears jaunt through their school day while McGrath's bouncy rhymes cover a breadth of math topics: counting, number sense, addition and subtraction, patterns, comparison, skip counting, and fractions. There are plenty of opportunities for audience participation here--both verbal and physical tasks are given to readers. This book will be useful for small group instruction.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tim Nihoff. Rhyming verses ask readers to follow along as brightly colored teddy bears are first estimated then sorted, graphed, added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided. The hand-drawn digital pictures illustrate each stanza as well as the directions and outcomes. Great for small group instruction and could be used for multiple class sessions.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet. The little red elf is used to doing everything herself while her friends the reindeer, the penguin, and the hare laze around. On Christmas morning, however, everyone is more than eager to assist in opening presents. Bonnet's cuddly illustrations give an extra-festive boost to McGrath's already spirited version of a familiar tale; the little red hen herself makes a cameo appearance.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2009

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Roger Glass. Despite the lame verse, this sequel to The M & M's Brand Chocolate Candies Counting Book introduces basic mathematical concepts using computer-generated images of the colorful candies. Leggy cartoon-character M & M's discuss the concepts of graphing, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and ordinal numbers, while suggesting that readers duplicate the activities with real M & M's.

Reviewer: Suzy Schmidt