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MathStart Level 1
The Greatest Gymnast of All (Mathstart: Level 1) - Common
While performing an energetic gymnastic routine, Zoe demonstrates such spatial opposites as on and off, inside and outside, and over and under.
33 pages, Hardcover
First published August 22, 1998
1 person is currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Stuart J. Murphy
158 books60 followersPICTURES & WORDS, STORIES & BOOKS
MathStart http://www.mathstart.net
I See I Learn http://www.iseeilearn.com
I was one of those kids who talked all the time in class. I loved telling stories. One day in the 4th Grade, my teacher said, “You tell such good stories, maybe you should try writing some of them down.” “Wow,” I thought. “She thinks my stories are good.” That’s when I started to really enjoy writing.
I was also the class artist. When I wasn’t talking,I was drawing. When I was older, I studied art at the Rhode Island School
of Design. That’s where I became interested in visual learning—how we decode and acquire information from graphs, charts, diagrams, models, illustrations and other images.
I became especially interested in educational publishing and have worked on the development of over a dozen major textbook programs, championing visual learning strategies from Pre-K through high school in every major curriculum area.
MATHSTART
The inspiration to write math stories for children was sparked by my work on a high school mathematics program. Visual learning strategies helped teens—who had been characterized as “reluctant learners’—understand difficult math concepts. Putting math in the context of stories based on their experiences made them feel more comfortable with abstract concepts. They actually became eager to apply math to real-life problems.
If this approach worked for older students, I began to wonder what might happen if younger children were introduced to math this way!

Even before children can read—or speak many words—they can interpret visual information with ease. The MathStart books use simple stories coupled with diagrams, graphs and other visual models to teach everything from probability and pattern recognition to area, capacity and negative numbers.
The Best Bug Parade, (comparing sizes) was my very first published book. It was absolutely thrilling to see my name in print! I never expected that one day there would 63 MathStart books, split over three levels for ages Pre-K to Grade 4.
Each book includes two pages of review and activities designed to help teachers and parents extend learning beyond the story, along with suggestions of related books by other authors. After all, if a child enjoys learning math through stories, then let’s have more stories!
(Pictures, Words & Math: An interview with Stuart J. Murphy )
THE MAIN STREET KIDS' CLUB: A MATHSTART MUSICAL
Now get out your dancing shoes—there is a musical based on six of the MathStart books! The Main Street Kids’ Club was workshopped at Northwestern University and adapted by Scott Ferguson, who also created the perennially popular production of Schoolhouse Rock Live!
The songs are terrific. The math is spot on. And the club motto makes my heart sing: “Math Skills are Life Skills!”
STUART J. MURPHY'S I SEE I LEARN
My latest series of books is focused on young children—Preschool and Kindergarten age.
I See I Learn books teach social, emotional, health and safety, and cognitive skills, such as how to make friends, build confidence, play safely, work together, manage emotions, and make plans. These skills are important for school readiness and for living happy, healthy, productive lives.

The stories “star” a wonderful bunch of friends who live in See-and-Learn City and attend Ready Set Pre-K. The cast includes Freda, Percy, Emma, Ajay, Camille, and Carlos. And, of course, Pickle, the green bull dog—who happens to have a soft-spot for butterflies—and Miss Cathy, their teacher.
I See I Learn stories are modeled on real-life situations and, just as in real-life, often involve more than one skill. For example, Freda Plans a Picnic is about sequencing, a cognitive skill, but the picnic itself is a social event. Percy Plays It Safe focuses on playground safety skills, but playing successfully in a group also requires self-regulation, an emotional skill.
Each book is reviewed by a tea
MathStart http://www.mathstart.net
I See I Learn http://www.iseeilearn.com
I was one of those kids who talked all the time in class. I loved telling stories. One day in the 4th Grade, my teacher said, “You tell such good stories, maybe you should try writing some of them down.” “Wow,” I thought. “She thinks my stories are good.” That’s when I started to really enjoy writing.
I was also the class artist. When I wasn’t talking,I was drawing. When I was older, I studied art at the Rhode Island School
of Design. That’s where I became interested in visual learning—how we decode and acquire information from graphs, charts, diagrams, models, illustrations and other images.
I became especially interested in educational publishing and have worked on the development of over a dozen major textbook programs, championing visual learning strategies from Pre-K through high school in every major curriculum area.
MATHSTART
The inspiration to write math stories for children was sparked by my work on a high school mathematics program. Visual learning strategies helped teens—who had been characterized as “reluctant learners’—understand difficult math concepts. Putting math in the context of stories based on their experiences made them feel more comfortable with abstract concepts. They actually became eager to apply math to real-life problems.
If this approach worked for older students, I began to wonder what might happen if younger children were introduced to math this way!

Even before children can read—or speak many words—they can interpret visual information with ease. The MathStart books use simple stories coupled with diagrams, graphs and other visual models to teach everything from probability and pattern recognition to area, capacity and negative numbers.
The Best Bug Parade, (comparing sizes) was my very first published book. It was absolutely thrilling to see my name in print! I never expected that one day there would 63 MathStart books, split over three levels for ages Pre-K to Grade 4.
Each book includes two pages of review and activities designed to help teachers and parents extend learning beyond the story, along with suggestions of related books by other authors. After all, if a child enjoys learning math through stories, then let’s have more stories!
(Pictures, Words & Math: An interview with Stuart J. Murphy )
THE MAIN STREET KIDS' CLUB: A MATHSTART MUSICAL
Now get out your dancing shoes—there is a musical based on six of the MathStart books! The Main Street Kids’ Club was workshopped at Northwestern University and adapted by Scott Ferguson, who also created the perennially popular production of Schoolhouse Rock Live!
The songs are terrific. The math is spot on. And the club motto makes my heart sing: “Math Skills are Life Skills!”
STUART J. MURPHY'S I SEE I LEARN
My latest series of books is focused on young children—Preschool and Kindergarten age.
I See I Learn books teach social, emotional, health and safety, and cognitive skills, such as how to make friends, build confidence, play safely, work together, manage emotions, and make plans. These skills are important for school readiness and for living happy, healthy, productive lives.

The stories “star” a wonderful bunch of friends who live in See-and-Learn City and attend Ready Set Pre-K. The cast includes Freda, Percy, Emma, Ajay, Camille, and Carlos. And, of course, Pickle, the green bull dog—who happens to have a soft-spot for butterflies—and Miss Cathy, their teacher.
I See I Learn stories are modeled on real-life situations and, just as in real-life, often involve more than one skill. For example, Freda Plans a Picnic is about sequencing, a cognitive skill, but the picnic itself is a social event. Percy Plays It Safe focuses on playground safety skills, but playing successfully in a group also requires self-regulation, an emotional skill.
Each book is reviewed by a tea
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 13, 2025
It has gym
November 21, 2012
This book is fun to read and has different vocabulary words to teach students about the concept of opposites. After we read the book, we can learn the opposite song to help students understand it better. We can also create dance moves to go along with the lyrics.
The Opposite song by Gemini
If I say ”stop,” you say … “go”
If I say “fast,” you say … “slow”
If I say “yes,” you say … “no”
If I say “above.” … “below”
Opposites, opposites,
lots of things have opposites,
but lots of things don’t — like squirrels!
What’s the opposite of a squirrel?
Verse 2:
big / small
short / tall
spring / fall
none / all
— eighty seven?
Verse 3:
black / white
dark / light
left / right
loose / tight
— purple?
Verse 4:
give/ take
real / fake
make / break
asleep / awake
— garbage cans?
Verse 5:
false / true
old / new
many / few
don’t / do
The Opposite song by Gemini
If I say ”stop,” you say … “go”
If I say “fast,” you say … “slow”
If I say “yes,” you say … “no”
If I say “above.” … “below”
Opposites, opposites,
lots of things have opposites,
but lots of things don’t — like squirrels!
What’s the opposite of a squirrel?
Verse 2:
big / small
short / tall
spring / fall
none / all
— eighty seven?
Verse 3:
black / white
dark / light
left / right
loose / tight
— purple?
Verse 4:
give/ take
real / fake
make / break
asleep / awake
— garbage cans?
Verse 5:
false / true
old / new
many / few
don’t / do
August 28, 2008
This is a level 1 book to teach opposites. I felt that the text didn't flow very well and it was difficult to pick out the opposites. You'd have to do a lot of discussing during or afterwards in order for the little guys to understand it. The plot wasn't very captivating and the illustrations were a little odd. For these reasons I think you'd be better served finding a better opposites book.
March 9, 2016
While performing an energetic gymnastic routine, Zoe demonstrates such spatial opposites as on and off, inside and outside, and over and under.
www.hcpl.net
FOCUS: Spatial Reasoning
Subject:
Geometry -- Juvenile literature
Polarity -- Juvenile literature.
English language -- Synonyms and antonyms -- Juvenile
www.hcpl.net
FOCUS: Spatial Reasoning
Subject:
Geometry -- Juvenile literature
Polarity -- Juvenile literature.
English language -- Synonyms and antonyms -- Juvenile
February 23, 2010
This book rocks!!! It is not only a fun read aloud, but it also is a great book to use for a math lesson in spatial concepts, as well as a lesson in antonyms as it has many pairs of opposites all throughout. The children get a kick out of this book and like to interact with it.
April 24, 2010
This is good book to use to teach opposites. It also teaches about all the different things Zoe does in gymnastics class. Zoe ends up winning the gold and is the greatest. It also motivates children to be the best at what they do.
November 12, 2012
This wonderful book is all about opposite. I would use this bookin the classroom to help my students get an understanding of things that are alike and things that are different. Really good book for younger children.
March 27, 2015
Gymnastics, Reading, and Math, oh my!!! A wonderful little read that bridges a sought after activity with reading and math. I like how this tied the components together. It really shows how a recreational (or competitive) activity associates with the educational basics.
April 23, 2008
one of Gracie's favorites! This is a cool series, these Math Start books.
Want to read
April 24, 2008Math connection
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May 27, 2008516 Mur
December 8, 2009
The pictures weren't that great and the words weren't either. I don't understand why she has to be the greatest gymnast of all.
November 26, 2012
me lovey
December 19, 2016
Read at Pajama Story Time on 2/27/13: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
March 3, 2015
the greatest gymnastics for all
Stuart J. Murphy
a math book for kindergarten showing rhyme and reception
Stuart J. Murphy
a math book for kindergarten showing rhyme and reception
August 25, 2015
While performing an energetic gymnastic routine, Zoe demonstrates such spatial opposites as on and off, inside and outside, and over and under.
October 9, 2015
A precious book about a talented gymnast that demonstrates spatial opposites.
August 17, 2016
Used in storytime 8/10/16
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews