Marvelous Math: A Book of Poems

Presents such poems as "Math Makes Me Feel Safe," "Fractions," "Pythagoras," and "Time Passes," by such writers as Janet S. Wong, Lee Bennett Hopkins, and Ilo Orleans.

Marvelous Math is a playful look at the sometimes surprising ways math is part of our daily's life. The poems cover a vast range of topics from multiplication, division, and fractions to time, counting and measurement, but all relate math to our everyday world. Full color.

Children's Literature

This is a collection of 16 poems by different poets, accompanied by vibrant illustrations. Unfortunately, the math is ordinary, and the poetry isn't marvelous either. Teachers will be able to find one or two useful poems, but will be disappointed with most. One major problem is that the book has a defensive feel, such that the overarching theme seems to be, "we can help you hate math a little bit less." One poem paints a natural landscape where "orange poppies multiply," but the word "multiply" is used here in its biological connotation of breeding and not as a math word. As in this example, many of the poems do not actually deal with math, they just pretend to. Other poets in the collection see math as nothing more than arithmetic, and several see it only as a painful rite of passage. Although this collection won the "Parents' Choice Award," teachers will feel that it does as much harm as good. 2001 (orig. 1997), Aladdin Paperbacks/Simon & Schuster, $6.99. Ages 5 to 9. Reviewer:Seth Berg

LEE BENNETT HOPKINS is a distinguished poet, writer, and anthologist whose poetry collections include the highly acclaimed Hand in Hand: An American History Through Poetry, illustrated by Peter Fiore, and My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States, and America at War, both illustrated by Stephen Alcorn. Mr. Hopkins’s numerous awards include the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion for “lasting contributions to children’s literature” and both the Christopher Award and a Golden Kite Honor for his verse novel Been to Yesterdays: Poems of a Life. He lives in Cape Coral, Florida.