What do you think?
Rate this book
Math Is CATegorical ®
How Long or How Wide?: A Measuring Guide
Brian Cleary and Brian Gable bring their trademark sense of humor to the subject of measuring length. A rhyming text filled with funny examples explains how to use and compare metric and U.S. customary units of length. Readers are also introduced to the tools they need to measure length―rulers, metersticks, and more.
32 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 2007
29 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
August 6, 2025
How Long or How Wide? is a playful, rhyming picture book that introduces young readers to measurement concepts in a clear and engaging way. The book explains standard and non-standard units, showing how to measure length, width, and height. The colorful illustrations and humorous examples make math concepts approachable for elementary students. Brian P. Cleary uses everyday objects, like fleas and ticks, to show how measurement works in real life. The combination of simple explanations and creative visuals keeps the content fun while reinforcing important math vocabulary.
Teaching Idea:
This book would be an excellent read-aloud to introduce a unit on measurement in grades 1–3. After reading, students could participate in a hands-on activity where they measure classroom objects using both non-standard units (paper clips, blocks) and standard units (inches, centimeters). The class could then compare measurements and discuss why standard units are important for consistency. This activity would reinforce both the math skills and the vocabulary introduced in the book, while encouraging cooperative learning and problem-solving.
Teaching Idea:
This book would be an excellent read-aloud to introduce a unit on measurement in grades 1–3. After reading, students could participate in a hands-on activity where they measure classroom objects using both non-standard units (paper clips, blocks) and standard units (inches, centimeters). The class could then compare measurements and discuss why standard units are important for consistency. This activity would reinforce both the math skills and the vocabulary introduced in the book, while encouraging cooperative learning and problem-solving.
March 2, 2017
Text: 3 stars
Illustrations: 3 stars
Not as good as the books in Brian Cleary's Words are CATegorical series, which I love. I have the following issues with this nonfiction picture book in the Math is CATegorical series:
- How tall and how wide are two totally different things, though they are not presented as such.
- Trees are measured in feet, not inches.
- Both the English and Metric systems are presented, which isn't an issue except the note explaining their usage appears before the book's text even starts. Many young readers will miss this brief piece of important information on the bottom of the dedication page.
Illustrations: 3 stars
Not as good as the books in Brian Cleary's Words are CATegorical series, which I love. I have the following issues with this nonfiction picture book in the Math is CATegorical series:
- How tall and how wide are two totally different things, though they are not presented as such.
- Trees are measured in feet, not inches.
- Both the English and Metric systems are presented, which isn't an issue except the note explaining their usage appears before the book's text even starts. Many young readers will miss this brief piece of important information on the bottom of the dedication page.
April 6, 2012
This book would go great with a lesson on measuring! I would use it in a 2nd-5th grade class. It discusses inches, feet, and yards, but it also tells about the metric system too. The fun rhymes and silly pictures help make this book interesting, which can be very helpful to students who are struggling with measurement.
April 23, 2012
It is a great math and science book that teaches measurement. Science because it teaches measurement which is needed for most characteristic standards. It is also great for math for measurement standards. It is also a great rhyming book. You could do activities that work on the different measurements, and conversions. It lays everything out in a detailed, fun, and informative way.
October 26, 2011
Amazing book for math teachers :)
May 18, 2025
love the Concept . . .
This is a clever way to introduce children to measurement (and math as a whole). I would have preferred the illustrations not be as cartoony or include as many invented critters (creatures? monsters?) because I certainly have no idea of their size, nor will the kids. The rhyming text is fairly good, although ar times, I had to stop and read it again to make sure it scanned. And I found the font difficult to read.
This is a clever way to introduce children to measurement (and math as a whole). I would have preferred the illustrations not be as cartoony or include as many invented critters (creatures? monsters?) because I certainly have no idea of their size, nor will the kids. The rhyming text is fairly good, although ar times, I had to stop and read it again to make sure it scanned. And I found the font difficult to read.
November 19, 2019
Informational
1st-4th grade
This would be a great book to read to students when talking about measurement. I like the way it addresses several measurements and how it compares them to over measurements or objects. While reading this book, you could give students a ruler and have them show the measurements along as you read it.
1st-4th grade
This would be a great book to read to students when talking about measurement. I like the way it addresses several measurements and how it compares them to over measurements or objects. While reading this book, you could give students a ruler and have them show the measurements along as you read it.
January 13, 2022
We have loved many of the books in this series. This one wasn't our favorite, but that being said, I think it is a short read and fantastic as a supplement to others when teaching the concept of measurement.
January 15, 2022
The book is more interested in rhyming than in teaching IMO. I know you can't really picture an entire meter stick in a small book, but I felt that the pictures didn't really help a child understand the different lengths well since they were different sizes in each picture.
February 18, 2019
good math resource for measurements for elementary.
August 23, 2019
Rhyming introduction to length and width
April 19, 2020
i loved this book, i love thinking, being creative, great illustrations. go on imagine ... you know you wanna be more creative? right??! come on. look at that cover.
June 9, 2022
This book is excellent for grades 1-3. This book is all about measuring and length, it gives a definition of what length is. It uses rhyming and is extremely engaging, it gives great examples of how to measure using the U.S customary system of inches, feet, yard.
October 26, 2022
The rhyming is a stretch at times. 2nd grade and up.
March 19, 2020
Teaches kids measurements. Measuring daily objects. Teaches kids about centimeters. Math.
December 11, 2021
This book is most useful in a classroom when teaching measurements in math. This book talks about all the types of measurements and gives examples. I think a fun activity that can be done with this is have students measure things but have them find out how big one object is in multiple measuring ways. I liked this book because it is very informative for students to learn or is also good for students struggling with learning about measurement because of all the examples.
April 22, 2015
Personal reaction: I thought this book was really fun because of the rhyming way it introduced kids to what it means to measure something's length. I think the cat characters helped make the story more interesting, too, because of how they were dressed in a "ruler's (king's)" clothing.
Purpose: I think this would be a great book to read aloud to 1st through 3rd graders during a unit on measurement. This book discusses a sometimes difficult topic of the difference between inches, feet, yards, centimeters, etc. and makes it much easier for children to digest and understand. In fact, in one of my other classes, my Professional Learning Community is using this book to read several times as we prepare a unit plan along with several lesson plans for the 2nd grade level. It also did a great job of showing how inches, yards, and feet are related. For example, it measured something and decided it was three feet, which they said is also one yard or 36 inches, but in a rhyming and fun way for the children.
Purpose: I think this would be a great book to read aloud to 1st through 3rd graders during a unit on measurement. This book discusses a sometimes difficult topic of the difference between inches, feet, yards, centimeters, etc. and makes it much easier for children to digest and understand. In fact, in one of my other classes, my Professional Learning Community is using this book to read several times as we prepare a unit plan along with several lesson plans for the 2nd grade level. It also did a great job of showing how inches, yards, and feet are related. For example, it measured something and decided it was three feet, which they said is also one yard or 36 inches, but in a rhyming and fun way for the children.
April 30, 2012
This is a fun book in the Math is CATegorical series by Brian P. Cleary. We've read several of the books in this series and we really enjoy them. The simple, rhyming narrative and cartoonish illustrations combine to make this a fun book to read aloud. It doesn't try to subtly insert a math lesson into the middle of a story, like the MathStart books by Stuart J. Murphy do. But the result is still educational and fun. This book has a focus on measurement and introduces both the English system and the metric system. We really enjoyed reading this book together and we will certainly look for more books in this series at our local library.
May 3, 2015
I used this book for a project with some girls for a class, and I think it is a very great book to teach kids about units of measurements, how to measure, etc. This book is good for children 6 and up, or for any young student needing help with understanding measurements. The illustrations make this book super fun and make readers forget they are learning about something, and it still does an amazing job with helping children understand the differences between different units of measurement, and how to differentiate between the various units.
I would definitely use this book in my classroom during a math unit, and read it aloud to students to help them understand measurements and the conversions. I would read it once for enjoyment, and a second time and have them write down the conversions (1 ft= 12 inc, 3 ft.=1 yard, etc.). When doing math assignments and classwork that deals with these things, I will offer the students the book to look at to help them.
I would definitely use this book in my classroom during a math unit, and read it aloud to students to help them understand measurements and the conversions. I would read it once for enjoyment, and a second time and have them write down the conversions (1 ft= 12 inc, 3 ft.=1 yard, etc.). When doing math assignments and classwork that deals with these things, I will offer the students the book to look at to help them.
May 9, 2015
Personal Reaction: I thought this book was really. The story provided a lot of information in a fun and creative way. I real;y enjoyed the way the story is setup because it makes the idea of measurement really easy for children to follow.
Curriculum: I think this book could definitely be used for a math unit. For one of my other classes we used this book when we were introducing measurement for the first time. It provides information on the measuring tools and every single type of measurement (customary and metric). It is a good reference to keep repeating to students during a measurement unit.
Independent: I think a child in second grade would enjoy reading this book. The language has a lot of rhythm making it super easy to follow. I think they would also get enjoyment out of the silly characters that they use to provide information within the story.
Curriculum: I think this book could definitely be used for a math unit. For one of my other classes we used this book when we were introducing measurement for the first time. It provides information on the measuring tools and every single type of measurement (customary and metric). It is a good reference to keep repeating to students during a measurement unit.
Independent: I think a child in second grade would enjoy reading this book. The language has a lot of rhythm making it super easy to follow. I think they would also get enjoyment out of the silly characters that they use to provide information within the story.
March 13, 2012
Part of the series by Brian P. Cleary.
This book begins with the definition of length to be the distance from one end of something to the other. Starts by stating that different things can be measured such as tables, buildings, teddy bears, pretty much anything. Discusses what an inch is and how it looks like. Goes into 12 inches in a foot, provides examples of when we can use inches instead of other metric units. The book talks about what a ruler is and how it is useful in measuring items. From here goes into yards, and how many feet make up a yard, and how many inches make up a yard; all this is the English Length measurements. The book provides great illustrations that help visualize the different types of measurement with how big or small they really are.
This book begins with the definition of length to be the distance from one end of something to the other. Starts by stating that different things can be measured such as tables, buildings, teddy bears, pretty much anything. Discusses what an inch is and how it looks like. Goes into 12 inches in a foot, provides examples of when we can use inches instead of other metric units. The book talks about what a ruler is and how it is useful in measuring items. From here goes into yards, and how many feet make up a yard, and how many inches make up a yard; all this is the English Length measurements. The book provides great illustrations that help visualize the different types of measurement with how big or small they really are.
July 20, 2013
CONTAINS: Inch, foot, yard and their equivalent. Millimeter, centimeter, decimeter, meter, and how they compare to the English standard.
This book is about the English standard and metric measurement. It shows they compare to each other. It also tells how many inches in a foot and yard, how many feet are in a yard and the same with the Metric system, such as how many mm in a cm and so on.
I could use the book to introduce liner measurement to the class. The students could act it out as it is being read with the measurement tools such as meter and yard sticks.
This book is about the English standard and metric measurement. It shows they compare to each other. It also tells how many inches in a foot and yard, how many feet are in a yard and the same with the Metric system, such as how many mm in a cm and so on.
I could use the book to introduce liner measurement to the class. The students could act it out as it is being read with the measurement tools such as meter and yard sticks.
April 5, 2016
Students will enjoy learning about length in this fun rhyming story that teaches about inches, feet and yards and introduces students to the metric system.
The bigger question about this book is not: "Will students enjoy it?" but "How much will they retain?" The story moves so quickly from one topic to the next that I am not sure about this.
The bigger question about this book is not: "Will students enjoy it?" but "How much will they retain?" The story moves so quickly from one topic to the next that I am not sure about this.
January 7, 2009
VERY elementary, but very cute. I was looking for something to use with middle school math classes, and this one would be too low level for them. However, it does a great job of explaining measurement.
April 21, 2010
Very nice measurement book that uses cartoon animals who ask questions about measurement, and then measure objects. This could be a great start for a measuring activity in the classroom. After reading, have the students go on a measuring hunt and measure desks, chairs, etc...
April 4, 2012
When I am teaching my children how to measure, I will read this book. It is a measuring guide with all the different ways to measure. It is very informative yet will make the children laugh. You can do many measuring activities along with this book.
February 9, 2013
Best for kids ages 6 and up.
Early Literacy Skills: Print Motivation, Vocabulary, Narrative Skills
Join the crazy CATegoricals as they explain how things are measured with kid friendly examples. Wild and crazy illustrations help to further the concept.
Early Literacy Skills: Print Motivation, Vocabulary, Narrative Skills
Join the crazy CATegoricals as they explain how things are measured with kid friendly examples. Wild and crazy illustrations help to further the concept.
October 16, 2007
Cleary's vocabulary series (Words are CATegorical) makes grammar fun and now he is doing the same for math concepts.
Dr Seuss would've approved and so will elementary school students.
Dr Seuss would've approved and so will elementary school students.
April 9, 2014
This book uses monsters to teach about standard measurement. The book has rhythm and silly engaging student. I will use this book to present standard measurement.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews