All about 1 2 3 by Ruth ThomsonReview by: David J. WhitinThe Arithmetic Teacher, Vol. 36, No. 7 (March 1989), p. 57Published by: National Council of Teachers of MathematicsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41193650 .

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underlies the module's movements are fairly well done. It really is a challenge to fly the module around and make a smooth landing.

Weaknesses I see little value in the use of the program for skill building. Students who need the arithmetic drill are unlikely to possess the other skills necessary to have success in landing the mod- ule. The user's guide offers little more than what can be discovered while using the pro- gram. No support materials are included in this guide.

Recommendation I cannot recommend this program as a means of improving basic mathematics skills. It could be an interesting addition for a scout club's collec- tion or as a game for a booth at the school's fun fair.- Vincent F. O'Connor.

Rwriaœing and Ukzcoing

New Books For Pupils

All abOUt 12 3, Ruth Thomson. 1986, 32 pp., $9.95 cloth. ISBN 1-55532-341-3. Gareth Stevens Publishing, 7221 W. Green Tree Rd., Milwaukee, WI 53223.

In this beginning counting book the reader is asked to help Sam find one armadillo, two jaguars, and other animals of the jungle and then point out which animals are performing certain activities, such as flying, eating, or sticking their tongues out.

One of the main strengths of this book is its illustrations. They are bright and bold and catch the reader's attention. All the sets of animals are distinct enough for the children to find quite easily, except for the group of six snakes, which are somewhat difficult to discern among the vines of the jungle. The animals are arranged in a manner that encourages children to count by groups of two, three, and four.

On each page two questions are posed about the particular group of animals. Although the questions point out different activities and char- acteristics, they do not always include the total number of animals. For instance, in the illustra- tion of eight monkeys, the questions ask how many monkeys have bananas (two) and how many are hanging by their tails (three).

The book concludes with a helpful list of ideas for counting and for encouraging children to look for authentic uses of numbers in their environment. - David J. Whitin, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208.

Edited by Grace M. Burton University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Wilmington, NC 28403

March 1989

All abOUt Shapes, Ruth Thomson. 1986, 30pp., $9.95 cloth. ISBN 1-55532-339-1. Gareth Stevens Publishing, 7221 W. Green Tree Rd., Milwaukee, WI 53223.

This book is intended as an introduction to shapes. On every page Presto the Magician performs a specific trick for a given shape, such as placing three circles on a string or removing four diamonds from a magic cloth.

The book has a series of limitations. It intro- duces too much mathematical vocabulary at one time; it not only presents basic shapes but also introduces such three-dimensional figures as cones and cylinders. It tries to use the magician as a pretense for a story, thereby rendering the book stilted and insipid. It comes across more as a workbook than as a story from children's literature. The market offers better books, such as those by Tana Hoban, to serve as a springboard for discussing shapes and their role in a child's life.- David J. Whitin.

Two Ways to Count to Ten, retold by Ruby Dee, illustrated by Susan Meddaugh. 1988, 32 pp., $12.45 cloth. ISBN 0-8050-0407-6. Henry Holt and Co., 115 W. 18th St., New York, NY 10011.

This story is a retelling of a traditional Liberian folktale in which King Leopard invites all the beasts of the jungle to a spear-throwing contest. The winner will marry his daughter and succeed him as king. The challenge he sets for the willing contestants is to throw a spear toward the sky and count to ten before it comes down again. Many animals fail before the antelope wins the prize by cleverly counting to ten by twos.

This wonderful tale, intended for a primary- grade audience, is an excellent resource for teachers and can be used in a variety of ways. It could be used as part of a theme unit on African folktales and tied to other trickster tales, such as those of Anansi. The story also furnishes a natural context for discussing multiplication as repeated addition. Children could be encour- aged to share personal instances of counting by ones, twos, threes, fives, and so on. Some of their examples might include songs, games, poems, skip-rope rhymes, and telling time and would constitute a good list of the functional uses of multiple counting.

The illustrations for this tale are artistically composed and quite humorous. For instance, as each animal fails to count to ten, he or she hides in the bushes and shamefacedly watches the remaining contestants. Aerial views, as well as close-up illustrations of the proud elephant and the enraged lion, give the reader a variety of perspectives. The only drawback was three pages of text that were distracting to read because of some shadowed printing. It is hoped that this problem was unique to the copy under review. - David J. Whitin.

For Teachers

From NCTM

20-percent discount for individual NCTM members on NCTM publications

Solving Word Problems in the Pri- mary Grades: Addition and Sub- traction, Miriam M. Feinberg. 1988, 35 pp., $7 paper. ISBN 0-87353-255-4. National Coun- cil of Teachers of Mathematics, 1906 Associa- tion Dr., Reston, VA 22091.

Solving Word Problems in the Primary Grades is a well-organized, sequentially developed book. It covers word problems with single-digit addition and subtraction, unknown subtrahends and minuends, and the use of diagrams. These skills are developed in thirteen lessons with a reproducible practice page that corresponds to each lesson. A short extension section is in- cluded.

The introduction discusses the importance of word problems in the primary grades - the em- phasis is on analysis and process over product. The use of manipulatives and the conduct of the lessons included in the book are dealt with briefly.

One error was noted on page 29 on the lesson-8 practice page, problem 2. The sentence following the second question should read, 4 'Show the seashells in the first dish/1 not "Show the marbles in the first dish."

The book is written for use by the classroom teacher. The format of each lesson is easy to follow. Each lesson includes a developmental section of questions for the teacher to use. This approach may seem to be redundant, but it does impress the importance of asking questions of students, a method that helps students analyze their answers.

Texts and workbooks in the classroom can be used to supplement the work presented in this book. The author points out that text or work- book activities should include only concepts already developed.

The positive points of this book are numer- ous. It is clear, carefully sequenced, and theo- retically well founded- a wonderful addition to any primary teacher's library. An outstanding strength is the careful development of the use of language. The teacher is told how to help stu- dents develop a repertory of vocabulary for interpreting word problems. This process is much different from students' looking for key words without analyzing the problems.

Naming the subtrahend before the minuend is one objective that is covered thoroughly here but is often overlooked or dealt with too briefly in other books. The practice page for lesson 5, in which this objective is introduced, could offer more practice. Only three of the seven problems afford practice on this newly intro- duced objective.

This book is highly recommended for any teacher of primary-grade children.- Julie Ra- gan Madison, Brunswick County Public Schools, Fair Bluff, NC 28439.

From Other Publishers

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