August 1, 2017
Grades 2-4 These books in the Mathematics Readers: Level 3 series are clearly intended for classroom, rather than independent, use. Math questions appear in sidebars and in Problem Solving and Math Talks pages at the end of each book. Reluctant math students may be inspired by the links to real-world situations as well as the nonfiction story in each book. The books cover a variety of interesting topics in both the natural and human-made world, though not all of the texts and mathematical concepts are a natural match. Amazing Animals succeeds best when the addition and subtraction problems focus on tracking groups of whales, rather than just using them as props in word problems. Appropriate photos and historical images add interest to the text. Although not perfect, these books would be good classroom tools for interdisciplinary learning.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)