Count on Me - Softcover

Tanco, Miguel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0735265755 ISBN 13: 9780735265752

Publisher: Tundra Books, 2019

Synopsis

A young girl sees the world differently in this beautiful picture book celebration of math.

Everyone has a passion. For some, it's music. For others, it's art. For our heroine, it's math. When she looks around the world, she sees math in all the beautiful things: the concentric circles a stone makes in a lake, the curve of a slide, the geometric shapes in the playground. Others don't understand her passion, but she doesn't mind. There are infinite ways to see the world. And through math is one of them.

This book is a gorgeous ode to something vital but rarely celebrated. In the eyes of this little girl, math takes its place alongside painting, drawing and song as a way to ponder the beauty of the world.

About this title

About the Author

Award-winning artist MIGUEL TANCO is a children's book author and illustrator. He teaches illustration and organizes creative workshops for kids in Spain, where he was born and raised, and in Italy. He has published over forty children's books including My Best Friend; Great Dog; You and Me, Me and You; Les Farfelus; and The Story of Cyrano de Bergerac. He lives in Milan with his wife, Federica, and their two sons, Pablo and Javier.

Reviews

Gr 1–4—A young girl understands that everyone has a passion. Her father's is art, her mother's science, her brother's music. Her passion is math. She sees math wherever she goes—on the playground, at the lake, in her toys, and in solving real-life problems. The girl keeps a journal of math concepts that fascinate her and this journal helps explain the concepts highlighted in the story, such as fractals, basic polygons, concentric circles, types of curves, solid figures, types of trajectories, and kinds of sets. Each journal page gives a definition for the featured concept along with illustrations. This picture book for elementary age students is a great tool for teachers to use to kick off the school year, acknowledging that everyone is good at something and that the diversity of interests and abilities is what makes the world interesting and beautiful. The book is also useful for introducing the concept of a math journal or even as an introduction or tip sheet for any of the aforementioned concepts. The illustrations are simple and succinct, with clean lines making it easy to recognize the math concepts that are being represented. The colors are subtle and applied in a manner that lends the book a fresh, clean feel. VERDICT A picture book that celebrates different ways of looking at the world and a useful tool for any classroom or personal library collection.—Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

Edition details

• Publisher: Tundra Books
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0735265755
• ISBN 13: 9780735265752
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 48