The Great Math Tattle Battle - Hardcover

Bowen, Anne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0807531634 ISBN 13: 9780807531631

Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company, 2006

Synopsis

Harley Harrison is the best math student in second grade; he is also the biggest tattletale. Then Emma Jean arrrives. She is good at math too, but is also a tattletale. Soon they're using their math skills to tattle on each other every chance they get.

About this title

About the Authors

Anne Bowen is a former elementary school language arts teacher. Her previous books include a Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year and a Society of School Librarians International Honor Book. She lives in Utah.

I'm a new author, heavily indebted to classic writers like Edward Eager, E. Nesbit, Roald Dahl, Norton Juster, and James Thurber.My first two books are coming out in 2008, "Inside the Slidy Diner" is a picture book about a little girl trapped in an eerie diner (Tricycle) and "Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains OR The Search for a Suitable Princess" is a middle grade novel about a snarky milkmaid, a gangly prince, a prairie dog, and bad government (Random House Books for Young Readers). 

Reviews

Grade 1-3–Harley Harrison is a math whiz and a tattler. The second grader observes his classmates and then writes detailed reports filled with simple numerical evidence of their wrongdoings. The reports are shown in full-page illustrations that incorporate numbers, objects, and childlike printing: Erwin chewed the erasers off 8 pencils on Monday 3 pencils on Tuesday...=21 erasers. The adults deal with the boy's disclosures as his classmates complain. Then a new student arrives, and Harley finds his match. Emma Jean corrects his mistakes and begins to tattle in an oddly familiar manner, using calculations to prove her points. The two tell on one another until their teacher pairs them in a math challenge. After working separately and losing time, they cooperate, and the results are rewarding–extra time at recess. They inform their teacher that they will be too busy playing to write any more reports. The striking color cartoon art in soft pastel tones depicts children with expressive faces. The math is cleverly woven into the story and used effectively. Back matter includes a half-dozen Math Tattle Battle Teasers and their solutions. The book is a winning combination of math problems and a true-to-life story.–Erlene Bishop Killeen, Fox Prairie Elementary School, Stoughton, WI
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Gr. 1-3. In this unabashedly numbers-driven tale, a second-grader with a habit for counting up his classmates' infractions and reporting them to the teacher gets his comeuppance from a new arrival, who not only tattles on him but also corrects his arithmetic. Zollars' illustrations alternate pages of notebook paper with accusatory tallies ("Erwin chewed the erasers off 8 pencils on Monday, 3 pencils on Tuesday . . .") with static scenes featuring multicultural groups^B of children and teachers. Closing with a reconciliation between the rivals and a half-dozen extra word problems, the episode may find a small number of readers among fans of Stuart Murphy's MathStart series, despite its pointedly pedagogical purpose. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807531634
• ISBN 13: 9780807531631
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Zollars Jamie
• Number of pages: 32