Circus Shapes (MathStart)

Everyday activities such as sharing a meal, sorting socks, and getting ready for school can be part of learning math. In the MathStart series, everyday life is the basis for each entertaining story. Simple math concepts are embedded in each story so that young children intuitively understand them. Adults can use the creative suggestions for activities in the back of each book to extend learning opportunities with children.

Developmentally appropriate and correlated to school grade levels and the curriculum standards of the National Council of Teachers Of Mathematics, MathStart can give children a head start!

Circus animals and performers getting ready for a show form basic geometric shapes.

Everyday activities such as sharing a meal, sorting socks, and getting ready for school can be part of learning math. In the MathStart series, everyday life is the basis for each entertaining story. Simple math concepts are embedded in each story so that young children intuitively understand them. Adults can use the creative suggestions for activities in the back of each book to extend learning opportunities with children.

Developmentally appropriate and correlated to school grade levels and the curriculum standards of the National Council of Teachers Of Mathematics, MathStart can give children a head start!

Children's Literature

The bright primary colors of these computer generated pictures help to center attention on the various shapes associated with familiar circus sights. The pictures are arresting, completely covering the pages, which have only a line or two of text so that it's easy to spot the triangles, circles, squares and rectangles among the wagons, lions, clowns and the rest. The book ends with elementary counting questions to cement the lessons learned and an activity section for more fun. Part of the HarperTrophy "MathStart" paperback series, Level 1.

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.