Super Sand Castle Saturday (MathStart 2) - Softcover

Murphy, Stuart J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0064467201 ISBN 13: 9780064467209

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1999

Synopsis

One Saturday at the beach, Laura, Juan, and Sarah decide to have a sand castle contest. As the tide rises, the walls get longer, the towers get taller, and the moats get deeper. The friends measure their sand castles with spoons, shovels, and bare feet until Larry the lifeguard and his tape measure surprise them all.

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.

Julia Gorton has loved to get wet since her days as a teenage member of the Aquaettes. A local synchronized swim team. She is still passionate about water and is working to get a community pool built.

For a decade she has been delighting children with her inspired illustrations and dazzling designs. Her work can be found in the Science Play book I See Myself by Vicki Cobb, the MathStart book Super Sandcastle Saturday by Stuart J. Murphy, and Ten Rosy Roses, by Eve Merriam. Julia Gorton lives in a sprinklerfilled community in New Jersey with her husband, author-illustrator Daniel Kirk, and their three children, who splish and splash all around the town.

From Kirkus Reviews:

PLB 0-06-027613-4 This entry in the MathStart series explores the hazards of measuring in nonstandard units. Eager to win prizes from Larry the lifeguard for the tallest tower, longest wall, and deepest moat, Juan, Sarah, and Laura compare their sand castles; they discover that Sarah's castle is three shovels tall while Juan's is but two, Laura's moat is one spoon deep while Juan's is two, and Laura's wall is five steps long to Sarah's seven. However, as observant viewers will note, Sarah's spoon is longer than Juan's, her shovel and feet shorter. Wielding a tape measure, Larry explains why inches are more reliable units than spoons, etc. People and objects in Gorton's simple air brushed cartoons stand out distinctly against the green ocean and sun-drenched sand, and lines of measurement are laid out for viewers to compare. With the small type activity notes at the end, this makes a pleasant, painless way for children (and dare we say adults?) to pick up some basic math methodology. For those who resist Larry's strict notions, bring out Loreen Leedy's blithe Measuring Penny (p. 270) for a more generous examination of nonstandard measurements. (Picture book. 6-8) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0064467201
• ISBN 13: 9780064467209
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 40