Math Fables Too: Making Science Count

by Greg Tang, Taia Morley (Illustrator)

Greg Tang, a nationally acclaimed speaker, author, and educator, has already inspired hundreds of thousands of children, parents, and teachers across the country through his best-selling books. Now with this follow-up to his wildly successful Math Fables, Greg Tang adds science to the mix as he challenges the youngest math learners—kids ages three to six—to think about numbers in more creative ways. His charming animal fables will spark an interest in science while giving children a head start in math that will last a lifetime. Math, science, and “lessons that count”—a winning combination!

Genres: Mathematics, Science, Picture Books, Childrens, Teaching, Addition, Animals

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book of math verse focuses on counting and grouping numbers; it is one of several Tang has written. The idea is for children to shift from concrete to abstract thinking. The verses rhyme and have rhythm. They are rich in zoological information. Each poem includes a poetic stanza in italics that reveals unique traits for the species staring in that particular fable. There is an emphasis on problem solving strategies for the animals highlighted, and each poem ends with a positive moral. The illustrations appear computer generated. They are colorful and appropriately match the numbers embedded within the text. The book includes an introductory author’s note, and a concluding page of additional information about the mammals, birds, and sea-life presented in the text. The target audience is 3-7 year olds, though older students would also enjoy and benefit from its content.

[Jenna DeRose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this was an exceptional book and represents some of the core teaching strategies such as multiple representation, scaffolding, and problem solving while introducing addition to young readers. I believe this book would make a great addition to my classroom library and is a great introduction to a variety of activities. I would love to encourage students to create their fables, express themselves and they're creativity, and have them share with their peers and combine each other's chosen numbers. Tang does a fabulous job at gradually exposing children to addition without explicitly saying this is what they are doing. This allows the concept to come to them more naturally and without all of the anxiety learners can experience learning things for the first time.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like Math Fables, this involves making numbers less than or equal to 10 as sums of two numbers, and again, the narration does the work.

I liked this better than Math Fables because of the greater emphasis on facts about animals, using accessible but difficult vocab for the target age range, and the slightly improved poetry. (There was still some awkward meter, but it wasn't as common as in Math Fables.)

[Hannah Schweiter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: The reading takes a journey with several groups of animals to see how two parts create a whole.
Critique:
Math Fables Too is a great transitioning tool to move from counting to adding. Readers are learning about place value by grouping. The “two parts to make a whole” addition concept is indirectly describing the pieces I need to get my whole. This book helps readers practice and build computation skills by breaking numbers into small, manageable pieces. This book requires that the reader think about the sum in several different ways. The way in which this is done is very clever because the reader might not know that they are dealing with addition, or they might not have learned it yet, but they can gather from both the illustrations and the text what is happening computationally.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun book to read with children. With the bouncy and rhyming narrative and the colorful pictures, children can easily forget that they are learning something, too! We liked reading the notes at the end and we read them after each section, to get a deeper understanding about what was happening within the book. We enjoyed reading this together and our oldest especially loves these math books by Greg Tang.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good on showing different ways to make a certain number. It also has rhyming on each page so it's fun to read. The pictures are really good and it gives a fun way to count. I really like how they used the different animals to show the counting and they also tell some facts about the animal and things they do.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this one even better than Math Fables because it teaches about different kinds of animals and unique traits they have. (I always enjoy books more when I learn something, too.) It's like the first one in that it's a counting book that introduces addition and things of numbers in different parts (such as 4 and 4, 2 and 6, 3 and 5 all equal 8).

[Isabel Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like Math Fables, this book works with math facts of the number 10, and it also decomposes numbers from 2 to 10 into doubles, and plus one. This book would help students see the relationships in numer decomposition and gain fluency in their math facts.

[Codie Gates · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book to read. With the bouncy and rhyming narrative and the colorful pictures, children can easily forget that they are learning something. I liked reading the notes at the end to get a deeper understanding about what was happening within the book.

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

While introducing pre-k and kindergarteners to science, this book also teaches addition for #s up to 10. It teaches younger readers to think of math in more non-traditional ways. It is also beautifully illustrated.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has the same sort of adding-to-ten problems that are in Math Fables: Lessons That Count, but with something extra: true stories about animals.

[Timothy Cockburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

book teaches younger students how to do addition and it also helps them to see the importance of science while doing so.

[Dayna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Combines early math concepts and interesting science facts in masterful rhyme.

[Renee Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the text is less than lyrical and has a contrived feel, the pictures are delightfully appealing. Lots of interesting science and math facts for young readers.

[Rachel]

Uses different animals and stories to ell addition stories.

[Beyond the Pages with Eva K · Rating 5 out of 5]

How very clever!

[Sophia Davanzo]

This book helps build a foundation for young children’s counting and addition skills while using fun underwater animals. An activity that could be used along with this book could be used in a sensory table. A thin layer of sand could be placed at the bottom and a layer of water above that. Different types of sea creatures could be placed in it. Students will have to group the creatures, count them, and count the total number of creatures.