The Best Vacation Ever (MathStart 2, 1)

Help kids with their math skills plus their reading skills with the engaging and fun MathStart series!

The Best Vacation Ever is perfect for teaching data collection to first, second, and third graders. The family needs a break. Everybody's always so busy. But where should they go? A very smart and practical little girl asks some key questions and charts the answers. Mom wants to go someplace quiet and cool. Grandma and brother Charlie are looking for fun. And everybody but Dad wants Fluffer the cat to come along. Is there any place that'll make everyone happy? 

Kids will love the story and the funny illustrations by Bernard Westcott. Parents and other educators will love how the story and pictures make understanding comparisons a breeze—as well as the concrete examples of how math works! The book contains activities for adults to do with kids to extend math into their own lives! Math = Fun!

MathStart is an award-winning series by Stuart J. Murphy that teaches math through stories and visual models. Young readers find the stories engaging and relatable, because each story revolves around practical applications of the math concept being presented and features lively art from top-notch illustrators.

Charts and other visual representations help children understand how the math works and promote deeper comprehension. This unique combination of stories, illustrations, and visual models helps teachers and parents in the teaching of math and provides all children with the opportunity to succeed.

The 63-book series is divided into three levels with 21 books in each. The math concepts taught in MathStart books conform to state and national standards. Level 1 is Pre-K–Kindergarten; Level 2 is Grades 1–3; Level 3 is Grades 2–4.  The series follows math topics across grades so there is a foundational path to learning that runs through the levels.

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.

Nadine Bernard Westcott has illustrated numerous books for children, including How to Grow a Picket Fence by Mary Louise Cuneo and two popular children's songs: There's a Hole in the Bucket and Over the River and Through the Wood. She has also illustrated another book in the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series: I Can Tell by Touching by Carolyn Otto. Ms Westcott lives on Nantucket Island in Massachusetts.