How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? (Mr. Tiffin's Classroom Series) - Hardcover

McNamara, Margaret

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375840141 ISBN 13: 9780375840142

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade, 2007

Synopsis

Mr. Tiffin and his students explore skip counting and estimation in a fun pumpkin-themed classroom experiment! This book makes a wonderful read-aloud companion to any math or science curriculum, and it's a fun way to reinforce counting skills at home.

"How many seeds are in a pumpkin?" Mr. Tiffin asks his class as they gather around the big, medium, and small pumpkins on his desk. Robert, the biggest kid, guesses that the largest one has a million seeds; Elinor, sounding like she knows what she's talking about, guesses the medium one has 500 seeds; and Anna, who likes even numbers better than odd ones, guesses that the little one has 22. Charlie, the smallest boy in the class, doesn't have a guess.

Counting pumpkin seeds is messy business, but once the slimy job is done, to everyone's surprise, the smallest pumpkin has the most seeds! As Charlie happily exclaims, "Small things have a lot going on inside of them."

And don’t miss the newest addition to the Mr. Tiffin series, The Dinosaur Expert!

About this title

About the Author:

Margaret McNamara is the author of The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot, George Washington's Birthday, and the popular Robin Hill School early reader series. The Pumpkin Patch, in this series, was awarded the Oppenheimer Toy Portfolio Best Book Gold Award. She lives in New York City.

 

G. Brian Karas is the versatile and acclaimed illustrator and writer of many books for children, including Are You Going to Be Good? (a New York Times Best Illustrated Book), Home on the Bayou (recipient of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award), and the bestselling Muncha, Muncha, Muncha by Candace Fleming. He lives in Rhinebeck, New York.

From Booklist:

This versatile and sincere story will teach math and science concepts while modeling kind behavior. When Mr. Tiffin brings three pumpkins into class for a math and science lesson, all the children guess how many seeds are inside. Charlie, the smallest kid in class, feels frustrated: "All the best guesses are taken." Then the class opens the pumpkins and counts the seeds. McNamara introduces the concepts of counting by twos, fives, and tens, and she includes pumpkin facts (the more lines on the pumpkin, the more seeds it will have). Charlie ends up with the correct guess and discovers that "small things can have a lot going on inside them." Karas' simple, effective illustrations, in the autumnal colors of a fall landscape, capture the multicultural students' feelings, especially Charlie's quiet confusion and eventual flush of pride and confidence. Carton, Debbie

About this edition

• Publisher: Schwartz & Wade
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0375840141
• ISBN 13: 9780375840142
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Karas G. Brian