A House for Birdie (MathStart 1) - Hardcover

Murphy, Stuart J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060523514 ISBN 13: 9780060523510

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2004

Synopsis

Poor tiny Birdie has no house. But Birdie does have friends.

Spike, Queenie, Goldie, and Fidget want to help Birdie find a house of his own. Birdie needs a house that isn't too tall and isn't too thin, that isn't too short and isn't too fat, and that isn't too wide and isn't too narrow. Will they find a house for Birdie before the rain falls and the wind blows?

A sweet and simple story about helping out a friend explains the math concept of capacity -- what will fit in a container of a particular shape and size.

About this title

About the Author:

Stuart J. Murphy is a visual learning specialist. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, he has a strong background in design and art direction. He also has extensive experience in the world of educational publishing. Drawing on all these talents, Stuart J. Murphy brings a unique perspective to the MathStart series. In MathStart books, pictures do more than tell stories; they teach math.

Stuart J. Murphy and his wife, Nancy, live in Boston.

Edward Miller has illustrated A Drop of Blood and What Happens to a Hamburger? for the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series. He lives in New York City.

From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-Grade 1–Although this book is colorful, it misses its goal of helping children to understand capacity. A tiny blue bird searches for an appropriate house with the help of his feathered friends. Each one is a different shape: Spike is "tall, thin, and narrow"; Queenie is "tall, fat, and wide"; Goldie is "short, fat, and wide"; and Fidget is "short, thin, and narrow." As they explore a variety of homes, each companion finds a perfect fit for itself, but not for Birdie. In the end, the other birds build him a home that is just right. Some of the terms used to describe each bird are redundant. The author's goal is to introduce students to length, width, and height, but not all three dimensions are clearly differentiated. Additionally, "short and narrow" is reworded as "nice and thin," which jumps off the page as a value judgment after the narrative has used other descriptive terminology without any positive or negative interpretations. The simple cartoon illustrations are pleasant with endpapers covered by white outlines of a variety of birdhouses. The bright colors are attractive, and the text is accessible to beginning readers, but the explanation of the math concept isn't entirely successful.–Erlene Bishop Killeen, Fox Prairie Elementary School, Stoughton, WI
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About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0060523514
• ISBN 13: 9780060523510
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Miller Edward