Number One Number Fun

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Directed by the natty Ringmaster Rat, a menagerie of performing farm animals poses simple math problems in Chorao's (Cathedral Mouse) frolicsome book. The festively costumed creatures spill out of a circus wagon, then reappear in various configurations as limned by Chorao's breezy verses: "How many pigs are piled in fun? Add four plus three plus two plus one. If one falls off the pile of ten, how many piled-up piglets then?" (A few rhymes, however, don't quite align: ``other'' and ``together,'' ``his baton'' and ``one by one.'') On each spread, Ringmaster Rat holds a sign with the puzzle arranged numerically, while a nearby balloon displays the answer. Though prominently disclosing the solution reduces the challenge for the upper end of the target audience, it hardly subtracts from the enjoyment. Chorao's cartoony critters are less delicate than in most of her earlier work, but the arithmetical antics here-clown-suited porkers forming a wobbly pyramid, chickens in tutus prancing on a high wire-impart sum fun. Ages 4-7. (Mar.)

Children's Literature - Meredith E. Kiger

Colorful, cartoon-like drawings of animals in various get-ups add to this clever, humorous approach to addition and subtraction skill building. The animals are circus performers and, as they go through their antics under the direction of Ringmaster Rat, the listener is encouraged through zany, rhyming text to interact by keeping the correct sum. It makes numbers alive and funny for young students just learning these skills.

School Library Journal

Gr 1-2-Chorao uses her familiar, sprightly animal characters to illustrate this math-concept book in which a variety of humorously clad beasts engage in circus fun, from unicycle riding to tightrope walking. Their antics create an arithmetic game as some fall, tumble, or jump out of view while others join the mayhem. Framed, full-color, double-page illustrations portray the action and simple, rhyming text describes the activities. A numeric equation is featured on the left side of each page on a sign held by Ringmaster Rat, and the answer appears on the right in a balloon held by a mouse. Despite the book's basic rhymes, playful pictures, and circus theme, it is not for preschool or kindergarten children as the math concepts and their visual interpretations will be better understood by primary-grade children. Aileen Friedman's The King's Commissioners (Scholastic, 1995) uses a similar format to introduce multiplication concepts. Not an essential purchase, but a fun way to introduce addition and subtraction at home or in school.-Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WI

Carolyn Phelan

The colorful line-and-wash artwork, with its circus theme, is the best thing about this cheerful math-oriented picture book. The text consists of rhymed couplets such as "Ten in a car, including a cow. Three fall off. How many now?" and "Five tumbling mice join four cycling cats. How many mice and cats wearing hats?" Since only the cats are wearing hats, this would be open to interpretation, except that the math problems on each page are stated in the text, written arithmetically on the page, and, just in case all that seems too abstract, illustrated with objects to count. For children who are still stumped, the answer appears on a little helium balloon in each picture. Some of the pictures show the objects plainly, while others require more visual discrimination. Despite its rather weak text, the book may be of interest to school libraries seeking to supplement the primary-grade math curriculum.