Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Math Made Fun for Everyone..... August 8, 2002
Roz Levine (Virginia)
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
Greg Tang and partner, Harry Briggs are back with another innovative, seasonal counting book that's ready to challenge younger readers. Each clever problem, posed as a riddle, and told in engaging rhyme is enhanced with bold and vibrant, eye-catching, computer-generated illustrations. No more counting the old fashioned, slow way, one by one. Tang and Briggs help kids think creatively by looking for patterns and recognizing groupings. Little ones will feel a real sense of accomplishment as they begin to develop the problem solving skills and tactics they'll use for the rest of their lives. With a helpful hint included at the end of each rhyme to get you started, and a straighforward, easy to understand answer key at the end, youngsters 4-8 won't even know they're working on math problems. They'll just think they're just having fun! For those with older kids, be sure to get this dynmaic duo's first book of mind-stretchers, The Grapes Of Math.
Highly recommend! September 5, 2006
Janet Smith
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have been waiting for any books from this series. This one is another wonderful, innovative counting book that's ready to challenge children who just start their math thinking. Each thoughtfully designed problem, posed as a riddle, and told in engaging rhyme is presented together with eye-catching and mind-stretching illustrations. No more boredom in counting the old way. The authors help kids think creatively by looking for patterns, relations and recognizing groupings. Young children will feel a real sense of accomplishment as they begin to develop the problem solving skills and tactics they'll use for the rest of their lives. With a helpful hint at the end of each rhyme to perk up the interest, and a straight forward, easy to understand answer key at the end, many kids don't even know they're working on math problems. They're just having fun!
This book is particularly useful for gifted and talented children, who are ready to learn math very early. It instills natural and intuitive math thinking without the requirement of a formal textbook learning. When later on I do need a more formal and systematic math for my gifted child, we use Beestar online GT programs at beestar.org. Similar to this book, they are innovative and thoughtful.
Overall, this book is as good as I have hoped. Highly recommend.
Early Number Sense March 26, 2006
B. K. Walker (USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I just went through this book with my six year old son and he absolutely loved it! It shows different ways to think of counting objects by grouping them in easy multiples. I think it's a wonderful opportunity for kids to learn that there are many ways to solve a math problem, too. My son enjoyed explaining 'his way' and hearing 'my way'. It's a great book for early number sense (mental math) and has beautiful illustrations, too.
Riddles, Patterns, and Problem Solving July 15, 2005
Micole Roy (Sugar Land, Texas USA)
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
This is a great book for introducing a gifted child to using patterns to quickly solve math problems. The riddles guide you to the author's solution. However, another valuable lesson is that there are many ways to solve a math problem.
I gave this book to my gifted five year old son the summer before he began first grade. He loved the rhymes and the pictures. He especially liked finding clever ways to count the objects without counting one by one. We made a family game of solving each riddle, working to see who would solve it first. Then we shared our strategies and reviewed the author's strategy which is presented in the back of the book.
I highly recommend this book! It provides opportunities for great mental math practice. Gifted children love patterns. This book builds on that and helps them to see additional ways in which finding patterns could be useful.
 Beautiful Book June 11, 2006
djonn (Toronto, On)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is a beautiful book, an important factor to consider when attempting to interest a child in working with numbers in general and solving equations in particular. The illustrations are eye-catching, the colours are bright, the paper is thick and glossy, and the book is a nice size for parent and child to read together at bedtime. My child has no interest in math, and I found that appealling to her more imaginative side as this book does sparked her curiosity. The method the author has used to pique children's interest in solving basic mathematical problems is creative and engaging.
The reason I have given this book 4 stars rather than 5 is that after going through the book twice or three times and, more importantly, solving the problems, the book no longer held my child's interest. It has been sitting on the shelf untouched for months.
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