What's a Pair? What's a Dozen? by Stephen R. Swinburne

by Stephen R. Swinburne

What's a Pair? What's a Dozen? (P) The world is filled with numbers. From learning to count their fingers to learning to put on their shoes, children encounter mathematical concepts early in life. Steve Swinburne introduces children to number-related words in this bouncy, colorful photo-essay. From one to a dozen, lively photographs illustrate math words such as single, double, couple and prefixes such as uni-, bi-, and tri- ("A triangle is a shape with three sides and a tricycle is a bike with three wheels."). The second half of the book is presented as a guessing game in which children are asked to identify in photographs the math concepts they've been shown earlier in the book. Following Lots and Lots of Zebra Stripes and Guess Whose Shadow?, books that explored patterns and shadows, Steve Swineburne offers another "child-friendly" and entertaining look at an all-important concept.

Genres: Mathematics, Childrens, School, Nonfiction

Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 2000

About the author

Steve was born in London, England. He holds a BA degree in Biology and English from Castleton State College in Vermont. He has worked as a ranger in a number of national parks and is the author of over 30 children's books. His extensive travels to faraway lands such as Africa and treks through Yellowstone have all influenced his book projects. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt published Steve’s book Sea Turtle Scientist in 2014. His most recent title is from Scholastic and entitled Safe in a Storm, a comforting read-aloud story, where all the animals find cozy places to keep them safe and warm. Steve visits nearly a hundred schools a year across the United States as well as many international schools. He lives in Vermont with his wife Heather, two dogs named Scout and Jem, and a cat named Skittles.

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice summary of quantifying vocabulary, could have been improved by not including real children’s pictures to keep the outfits from being dated.

[Matthew S. Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good book for kids.

[Hannah Gies · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Real-life pictures, interactive, and great teachings on mathematical concepts. This is becoming a weekly read for us!

[Sarah Zablotney]

Title: What’s a Pair? What’s a dozen?
Author: Stephen R. Swinburne
Genre: Concept
Theme(s): Numbers, Language
Opening line/sentence: “Everything starts with one.”
Brief Book Summary: There are many ways to say numbers according to the context of which they are written. This book teaches the children many ways to say several numbers. The end of this book is interactive with the readers; it asks questions that relate to the reading.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Swinburne, Stephen R. What's a Pair? What's a Dozen?
Attractive, full-color photographs and succinct text introduce everyday number vocabulary in contexts familiar to young children--a pair of boots, a triple-scoop ice-cream cone, a dozen donuts. In the second half of the book, readers puzzle over questions such as "Can you find the pair?" and "Who's first in line?" The numerous color photos feature fresh-faced children casually posed in rustic settings.
(The Horn Book Guide Online)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Shelle Rosenfeld (Booklist, March 15, 2000 (Vol. 96, No. 14))
For children who have mastered beginning counting, this mathematical concept book introduces related words and phrases (first, second; uni-and bi-, "baker's dozen," etc.) through visual examples from daily life. Simple, direct sentences accompany lively, full-color photos of children, familiar objects, and scenarios that help explain the concept and add visual appeal. At book's end are a series of questions, inviting participation and review, with answers given both visually and in words. A few concepts ("even" and "odd," in particular) are less successfully treated and may require further explanation. Overall, however, the friendly approach and charming, eye-catching photos help clarify some initially confusing ideas in an entertaining, accessible way.
(CLCD)
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both of these reviews use examples from the book which back up the importance of the visual examples. The second review by, Shelle Rosenfeld, states how the pictures ‘add visual appeal’, which I have to agree with, the pictures in this book are relatable to the students reading it because there are children in the pictures. She also brought up the questions at the end of the book, which allow the reader to reflect on what they have read and get them involved.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The literary elements that I thought were significant in the book were the font size; it is easy to read at a first grade level. There are not a lot words on a page, which allow the reader to focus on the pictures. The pictures in through the book guide the reader to better understand what the text is saying.
Consideration of Instructional Application: Student will use their white boards for the activity that we will do after the reading this concept book. I will ask them questions related to the book, for example, “Draw a pair of shoes”. This activity will be done so I can see if my students comprehended what the reading was about and to practice the concept of numbers.

[Lindsay Garber]

Personal Reaction: I thought this book was short, sweet, and to the point! I enjoyed the photographs that went along with the text. This will allow young readers to have a visual of what they are learning. This is the perfect book for teachers to use when they are introducing students to quantities such as a pair, a dozen, first, third, few, or many.
Purposes/use in the classroom:
-Read aloud to make curricular connection: This book is perfect for teachers to use when they are introducing students to math concepts such as first vs. second, few vs. many, uni- vs. bi-, even vs. odd etc.
-Independent Reading: 1st-2nd; Although this book seems more appropriate as a read-aloud, students can still read this independently and teach themselves the concepts. Students who are interested in math and numbers will enjoy learning through this book. The photographs make the book more enjoyable for students and make it easier for readers to learn the concepts being taught.
-Particular nonfiction conventions:
-This book contains photographs on each page to help readers have a better understanding of the concepts.

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great because it teaches math terminology. Words like "bi" meaning two, odd, even, a dozen, several, first, second, a couple, single, double, and so forth. The photographs depicts the numbers related to the words. What a great book to read when teaching basic mathematical terms that are used in our world everyday.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a beginner's number book, this does a good job of describing a lot of number concepts in an easily understood way. It's more than a counting book. It also brings in ordinal numbers and a few other concepts. This is a good book for younger readers. The photographic illustrations are perfect conceptualizations of the text.