Mathstart HaMSter Champs Level 3

Stuart J. Murphy travels all over the UnitedStates talking to thousands of kids. And you'll never believe what they talk about: MATH! Stuart shows kids that they use math every day -- to share a pizza, spend their allowance, even sort socks. Stuart writes funny stories about math -- and if you read his books, you'll start to see the fun in math, too. Hamster Champs With a few blocks, a board, and a protractor to measure the angles, the hamster champs have built a ramp that lets them fly high! But will this stunt be good enough to outwit Hector the cat? Editorial Reviews From School Library Journal Grade 1-3-The first book offers a lesson on angles. Three rodents that are racing-car enthusiasts create a series of ramps in an attempt to get the feisty house cat with attitude to stop bothering them. The colorful cartoon animals talk to each other with false bravado and snideness. (Back off, fur face! Wait till you see what we can do, fleabag!) Unfortunately, the lesson is poorly conceived-children might need more instruction in using a protractor (and might find it hard to believe that a racing car can zoom up a hill of pillows). Using brilliant colors, a variety of transportation modes, and plentiful lizards, Lizards demonstrates counting by 5s and 10s. Murphys rhyming text is short and simple and children can add up the reptiles on each spread. The final striking lizard show spread is jubilant, resembling fireworks on the page. While children may find Horse fairly predictable, its likely they will enjoy it. The watercolor cartoon horses and farm setting are appealing and light. The easy-to-read charts in the illustrations provide teaching tools for lessons on predictability as Hankie always does the same thing at the same time. Prior work with telling time is necessary for understanding the text. Beyond the math concept, this gentle story could offer reassurance to children.-Erlene Bishop Killeen, Fox Prairie Elementary School, Stoughton, WI Copyright å¨ 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. From Booklist Gr. 2-4. This title in the long-running MathStart series couches a lesson about measuring angles in an entertaining story about three daredevil hamsters who outwit a skeptical cat. With their humans away, Pipsqueak, Chuckles, and Moe want out of their cage, but not if feline Hector is going to chase them. The cat agrees to back off--if the hamsters can come up with a stunt that pleases him. With a toy car, some blocks, and a protractor, the little champs set to work measuring an angle for a ramp, then revving up their car to fly. Alas, Hector is not impressed--until the hamsters gradually increase the angle to 180 degrees. The humorous cartoonlike characters are fun, and plenty of good-natured banter between the hamsters and the cat helps make the concept clear. Supporting material includes some adult-kid activity ideas and reference to three other children's books that make math fun. An entertaining supplement to math curricula. Shelle Rosenfeld Copyright å© American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.