(4) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by John Speirs. Each hour in a boy's day is represented by images of analog and digital clocks ("1:00 P.M."), a simple matching text ("Story time--my favorite time"), and a lively illustration. The concept is clearly relayed, although younger readers may not understand that the boy is dreaming during the wee hours, when he's shown partying with monsters. Suggested activities are appended. Reading list.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by Rémy Simard. In More, a boy compares numbers to guess people's ages at his school's picnic. In Polly, an American girl is introduced to metric units of measure by her Montrealer pen pal. As in most MathStart books, the absorbing story lines and engaging illustrations collude to make readers forget they are learning math as they happily turn the pages. Reading list. Review covers these MathStart titles: More or Less and Polly's Pen Pal.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by David T. Wenzel. In More, a boy compares numbers to guess people's ages at his school's picnic. In Polly, an American girl is introduced to metric units of measure by her Montrealer pen pal. As in most MathStart books, the absorbing story lines and engaging illustrations collude to make readers forget they are learning math as they happily turn the pages. Reading list. Review covers these MathStart titles: More or Less and Polly's Pen Pal.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by Bernice Lum. In Mighty, a little girl compares the weights of her toys as she tidies. In Tally, siblings play a competitive counting game to kill time on a long drive. In Treasure, a map leads the Elm Street Kids' Club to a time capsule. The appeal of this popular series lies in its blend of unforced humor, real-kid scenarios, and the cheerful picture book format. Review covers these MathStart titles: Mighty Maddie, Tally O'Malley, and Treasure Map.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by Cynthia Jabar. In Mighty, a little girl compares the weights of her toys as she tidies. In Tally, siblings play a competitive counting game to kill time on a long drive. In Treasure, a map leads the Elm Street Kids' Club to a time capsule. The appeal of this popular series lies in its blend of unforced humor, real-kid scenarios, and the cheerful picture book format. Review covers these MathStart titles: Mighty Maddie, Tally O'Malley, and Treasure Map.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by Tricia Tusa. In Mighty, a little girl compares the weights of her toys as she tidies. In Tally, siblings play a competitive counting game to kill time on a long drive. In Treasure, a map leads the Elm Street Kids' Club to a time capsule. The appeal of this popular series lies in its blend of unforced humor, real-kid scenarios, and the cheerful picture book format. Review covers these MathStart titles: Mighty Maddie, Tally O'Malley, and Treasure Map.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by Renee Andriani. These books cover elementary math concepts: place value, capacity (or volume), and numbers one through one hundred on a number line. The stories--about a club that recycles cans, birds searching for the right-size home, students doing "cool" things for the first hundred days of school--make the concepts palatable, while the cartoony color art adds energy. Suggested activities conclude each book. Review covers these MathStart titles: Earth Day--Hooray!, A House for Birdie, and 100 Days of Cool.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by John Bendall-Brunello. These books cover elementary math concepts: place value, capacity (or volume), and numbers one through one hundred on a number line. The stories--about a club that recycles cans, birds searching for the right-size home, students doing "cool" things for the first hundred days of school--make the concepts palatable, while the cartoony color art adds energy. Suggested activities conclude each book. Review covers these MathStart titles: Earth Day--Hooray!, A House for Birdie, and 100 Days of Cool.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by Edward Miller. These books cover elementary math concepts: place value, capacity (or volume), and numbers one through one hundred on a number line. The stories--about a club that recycles cans, birds searching for the right-size home, students doing "cool" things for the first hundred days of school--make the concepts palatable, while the cartoony color art adds energy. Suggested activities conclude each book. Review covers these MathStart titles: Earth Day--Hooray!, A House for Birdie, and 100 Days of Cool.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz. Three funny, well-written stories--about coyotes estimating the number of desert animals around them, a penguin saving up for an ice scooter, and kids sorting buttons for their firefighter costumes--explore and clearly explain, in an age-appropriate manner, the mathematical concepts of rounding, negative numbers, and patterns and sets. Each book features lively illustrations and closes with suggested activities. [Review covers these MathStart titles: Coyotes All Around, Less than Zero, and Three Little Firefighters.]

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by Steve Bjorkman. Three funny, well-written stories--about coyotes estimating the number of desert animals around them, a penguin saving up for an ice scooter, and kids sorting buttons for their firefighter costumes--explore and clearly explain, in an age-appropriate manner, the mathematical concepts of rounding, negative numbers, and patterns and sets. Each book features lively illustrations and closes with suggested activities. [Review covers these MathStart titles: Coyotes All Around, Less than Zero, and Three Little Firefighters.]

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by Bernice Lum. Three funny, well-written stories--about coyotes estimating the number of desert animals around them, a penguin saving up for an ice scooter, and kids sorting buttons for their firefighter costumes--explore and clearly explain, in an age-appropriate manner, the mathematical concepts of rounding, negative numbers, and patterns and sets. Each book features lively illustrations and closes with suggested activities. [Review covers these MathStart titles: Coyotes All Around, Less than Zero, and Three Little Firefighters.]

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by Steve Bjorkman. The Camp Grizzly mascot election heats up when Corey joins the race after a Grizzly Gazette poll reveals that fifty percent of campers have yet to decide on a candidate. Teachers will find the book suitable for introducing circle graphs and percentages, and even those daunted by math will respond to the colorful, humor-flecked camp scenes. Relevant math activities are suggested at book's end. Reading list.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by Valeria Petrone. When his ducks double in number, a young cowboy needs twice as much hay to make the birds' nests, twice as many sacks to carry their food, and so on. While the story is bland, it's a serviceable introduction to the concept of doubling. Bright, exaggerated illustrations feature a freckle-faced cowpoke in an oversize Stetson and chubby ducks with extra-long bills. Related math activities are appended.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by Cynthia Jabar. At a school picnic, kids dish up eight different kinds of sundaes. To their dismay, the possible combinations dwindle when the sprinkles, caramel sauce, and chocolate ice cream sequentially disappear. The images of the wide-eyed kids and their sundae fixings are inviting, and clear diagrams help reinforce the concept of combinations. Complementary activities are suggested at book's end. Reading list.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by Steve Bjorkman. At the new amusement park, Grandpa gives his grandkids twenty tickets each. With a little help, the kids add up the cost in tickets for rides and figure out the "unknowns," the number of tickets left over for snacks and games. Cartoony watercolors keep up the carnival atmosphere, while a plot about Paul's lost tickets and the Terrible Tarantula ride adds a hint of suspense. Related activities are appended.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by Christopher Santoro. All the insects are learning the bug dance in gym: "Two steps to the left. Two steps to the right. One hop forward. One hop backward. Turn right!" But Centipede has too many feet to dance gracefully. Illustrated with dynamic cartoon artwork, the story unobtrusively demonstrates directional concepts, while Centipede finally succeeds through practice. Related activities are appended.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by Mike Reed. Little brother Mike wants to participate in the fifteen kilometer bike race, but Justin and Marissa say it's too long. Determined Mike practices by biking around the athletic field and the zoo. Diagrams in the pastel-style illustrations showing distances around a perimeter are out of scale, but the mild story and lesson go down easily. Related activities are appended.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by John Wallace. In Bigger, siblings fighting over the size of their rooms learn the concept of area. In Sassafras, cousins line up by age for a photo and learn about ordering cardinal numbers. In Car Wash, a baseball team raises cash for new uniforms and learns about counting money. Spirited images, Murphy's wit, and simple math problems played out in familiar settings make these series books painlessly educational. [Review covers these MathStart titles: Bigger, Better, Best!; One...Two...Three...Sassafras!; and Sluggers' Car Wash.]

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) K-3 MathStart series. Illustrated by Barney Saltzberg. In Bigger, siblings fighting over the size of their rooms learn the concept of area. In Sassafras, cousins line up by age for a photo and learn about ordering cardinal numbers. In Car Wash, a baseball team raises cash for new uniforms and learns about counting money. Spirited images, Murphy's wit, and simple math problems played out in familiar settings make these series books painlessly educational. [Review covers these MathStart titles: Bigger, Better, Best!; One...Two...Three...Sassafras!; and Sluggers' Car Wash.]

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger