Coyotes All Around (Mathstart Series)

Clever Coyote thinks it's time for lunch –– and also time to show her friends how, with some simple rounding, she can add up numbers in her head. If only she were as good at hunting as she is at math!

A pack of coyotes tries to determine how many roadrunners and other creatures are in their vicinity, and while some count different groups and add their totals together, Clever Coyote rounds off and estimates.

Clever Coyote thinks it's time for lunch –– and also time to show her friends how, with some simple rounding, she can add up numbers in her head. If only she were as good at hunting as she is at math!

Sharon Levin - Children's Literature

This book is yet another in the exemplary "MathStart" series. It is more complicated than some in the series, but I wanted you all to know about this great resource as your children work their way through the sometimes confusing world of mathematics (Personally, I do math problems in my head at night instead of counting sheep.). Clever Coyote notices all the roadrunners running past (which makes her hungry) and tells the other coyotes (Clumsy, Cool, Careful and Little One) to count them up. As everyone tries to add their numbers together, Clever simply rounds the different figures and comes up with the answer long before everyone else. Interspersed with the lessons on rounding are "factoids," as the book puts it, such as: "Roadrunners can fly, but they usually run." They can go as fast as 15 miles an hour. Bet we all know children who will eat up those facts and be repeating them back to us on a regular basis. There is even a bibliography at the end of the book with other books that include some of the same concepts as this one. Great resource! 2003, HarperCollins, Ages 6 to 12.

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.