Spheres

Children's Literature - Melissa J. Rickey

This is part of the "3-D Shapes" book series designed to support early readers' understanding of mathematical shapes such as spheres. Simple and direct sentences are matched with brightly colored, full-page photographs to facilitate comprehension and provide clear examples of cubes in children's everyday worlds. An early sentence defines spheres: "Spheres are perfectly round 3-D shapes. Balls of all sizes and colors are spheres." This is followed by examples of "Playing with Spheres": "Marbles are colorful little spheres you can roll across the floor"; "Nature's Spheres"; "A frightened puffer fish blows up its body into a prickly sphere shape"; and "All Kinds of Spheres": "Blowing air into chewy bubble gum makes a pink sphere." An "It's a Fact" section lists interesting information about spheres from the silver-sphere Epcot Center in Florida to the biggest bubble gum sphere on record. A "Hands On" feature provides directions for making a cube friend named Cubby. Additional features include a table of contents, clear chapter headings, a glossary, a resource guide, and an index. This book can be used as a read aloud in primary math lessons and can also be read independently by early readers. Reviewer: Melissa J. Rickey

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2- Children learning about three-dimensional shapes will benefit from these concept books. A form is introduced, followed by a wide array of real-life examples. Full-color photographs clearly convey the characteristics of each shape. Soup cans and batteries are used to demonstrate cylinders; several types of pyramids are shown from around the world; bubbles, oranges, and snowballs exemplify spheres. Facts on famous or interesting representations of each shape are included at the conclusion of each title, along with a craft project. Teachers may embrace these books as useful supplements to geometry instruction. Ample examples, along with the hands-on projects, will help students retain knowledge about a concept that can be difficult to grasp. One drawback is that it's expensive to buy the whole set instead of having all of the information in one volume, but where a need exists, these titles are a worthwhile investment.-Melinda Piehler, Sawgrass Elementary School, Sunrise, FL

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