3x4: TOON Level 1 (TOON Books) - Hardcover

Brunetti, Ivan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1943145342 ISBN 13: 9781943145348

Publisher: TOON Books, 2018

Synopsis

Annemarie and her clever classmates have to draw sets of twelve and use their imagination to come up with creative solutions. Young readers will delight in the counting game while learning the basics of multiplication. Star cartoonist Ivan Brunetti’s ingenious and fun-to-read comic turns everyone into a math whiz!

About this title

About the Author:

Ivan Brunetti is an art teacher as well as an artist and a cartoonist. He has assigned drawing sets of 3 to his own students – but since they are college-aged, they have the extra challenge of making 25 sets of 3 things each. Ivan has published many acclaimed books for adults, including Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice. Wordplay, about compound words, was his first book for children. From a young age, Ivan loved playing with words and numbers. He also likes to play with his readers: look for all the 3s hidden throughout the book. Even today, Ivan still has to count to fall asleep. “Seeing the world as groups of numbers helps me make sense of things. And it never gets old because math has so many mysteries.”

Review:

"So exemplary an execution of a simple concept that it can be read multiple ways―as multiplication, counting, sorting―without sacrificing fun."
Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW

"Brunetti’s second volume is a lovely graphic story that teaches a simple concept in a most engaging way and will be snapped up by fans and newcomers alike. VERDICT: Another winner for beginning readers."
School Library Journal STARRED REVIEW

"As the characters work through the multiplication concept on their own terms, readers are sure to arrive at a clearer understanding."
Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW

"The premise may seem simple, but Brunetti gives it plenty of depth. This entertaining, playful concept book teems with charm."
Booklist

"There are so many different ways to make a dozen, and so many interests these kids have! A wonderful book to get kids interested in both math and art."
Comics Worth Reading

"Diverse characters at school and at home, delightful stylized illustrations in bright colors, and easy to read text make this an appealing title for new readers."
Youth Services Book Review

Rob Clough analyzes what makes 3x4 such an effective teaching tool at High Low Comics:
Right on the cover, Brunetti explains the basics of multiplication with the book's star, Annemarie, headlining three different rows but also being part of four different columns of images. The book hammers home the conceptual quality of multiplication, as a number that adds up items in rows and columns. The book itself is about a classroom assignment regarding multiplication, as Brunetti doubles down again and again to keep the focus on the fundamentals established at the start. He carefully breaks down various kinds of sets in a running gag, making it easy to remember. Brunetti keeps the background colors muted so as not to interfere with the objects on each page. They're crucial because Brunetti has to highlight those in order get the concept across to young readers. Brunetti also has a slow build-up of kids trying to one-up each other with the assignment, with Annemarie emerging with the most ambitious drawing of all. A nice side note regarding the book is how many of the characters in the book are people of color. It's simply a matter-of-fact detail that goes unspoken, yet it speaks volumes.

MATHICAL Honor Book, Grade 3-5

About this edition

• Publisher: TOON Books
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1943145342
• ISBN 13: 9781943145348
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 40