Me and the Measure of Things

Me

by Joan Sweeney, Annette Cable (Illustrator)

The energetic narrator of Me Counting Time and Me on the Map is back, this time introducing young readers to the units of measure. What’s the difference between a cup and an ounce? What gets measured in bushels and when do you use a scale? Easy-to-understand text and playful corresponding illustrations teach children the differences between wet and dry measurements, weight, size, and length. And all information is conveyed in a unique kid’s-eye perspective, using everyday objects and situations. Me and the Measure of Things makes measurement fun–and comprehensible!

Genres: Mathematics, Picture Books, Childrens, Nonfiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Tanisha Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title (italicize): Me and The Measure of Things
Author: Joan Sweeny
Illustrator (if separate from author): Annette Cable
Genre: Children’s literature
Theme(s): Measuring
Opening line/sentence (type directly from text): “This is me on the day I was born. I weighed 7 pounds and 20 inches long.”
Brief Book Summary (2-3 sentences in your own words): This book is about a young girl, who loves measuring things. She uses all different types of materials to measure.
Response to Two Professional Reviews (3-4 sentences in your own words): Penguin Random House states that the story teaches children “how to quantify things in their daily routines.” It teaches them different ways and how to use different materials to measure. On librarything.com, one member mentioned how this book is a great way to introduce the topic of measuring things to young children.
Tell Me Framework (4 sentences in your own words):
Like(s): I like how this book introduces measuring to young children and all the materials they can use to measure.
Dislike(s): N/A
Patterns(s): Highlights all the measuring keywords, such as, cups, ounces pint, and etc.
Puzzle(s): N/A
Consideration of Instructional Application (3-4 sentences in your own words) Teachers will provide measuring tapes and help go around the classroom with the students to show them how they would use the tape. They might not understand measurements yet. The teachers can demonstrate how the measuring tape is used. Teachers can always provide measuring cups to demonstrate how to measure using the cup as well.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Through everyday activities, a girl introduces readers to a variety of weights and measurements and shows how different sizes relate to each other. (For example, how many ounces in a pint and a gallon.) Includes charts showing how measurements relate.

I feel like every home should have a copy of the page spread in here showing the different cooking measurements and how they relate (3 tsp in 1 tbsp, 16 tbsp in a cup, etc.) it’s an extremely helpful breakdown of the relationships that would be nice to have when the appropriate size measurement spoon/cup is dirty. That said, this book is focused on non-metric measurements so if you live in a primarily metric-based country it won’t be as useful.

[Shelby Beasley · Rating 2 out of 5]

The narrator is very interested in measuring. She measures everything from mass to volume to length, and she shares her measurements with the reader.
I understand measurements and the US measuring system, but I found this book a little overwhelming. It's a whole lot of numbers that seem to come at you very fast. The illustrations are nice, but I thought this book was a little too much.
I could use a few pages from this book to introduce measurements and conversions.

[Kennedy Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book about how we can measure things. It introduces different tools that can be used to measure different objects. This would be a great book to use when students are learning about measurement. It has a lot of information so if I were to use this in my classroom I would break it up and read the book in sections.

[Vj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Covered all the basics, but not as entertaining as I hoped.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. Genre: Concept
2. Summary: This book helps the reader understand the concept of measurement by tying together illustrations of real world things and how they are measured in real life situations. A little girl explains how from birth to her age now her life has been filled with measurements.
A. Area of Comment: Text
The author’s writing is prosaic in style but it works well with the illustrations and the concept being covered.
B. The text and the illustration go hand in hand in order to explain how things are measured and how it affects the everyday lives of all people. It does seem at some point cut and dry and could do with a little more verve. The book does help give a clear understanding of the measuring things and the words used for each type of measure.
C. An example of this is in all of the text the author has bolded all the measurement words such as ounce, ton, cup, pound, and so on. This helps the reader to focus and remember these words.
Curriculum Connection: A teacher could definitely integrate this into a math lesson on measurement by having the students read the book or have it read to them and build a list of vocabulary words dealing with measuring. The reading of the book could be accompanied by an activity in using these measures.

[Janice Redding · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because it discusses things that you can measure and weigh. Some examples that were provided in the book were gummy bears, to see how much it weighs, as well as the distance between houses. Even though weight and measurement are two important concepts, the books says that weights and measures tells how much, how many, how heavy, how tall, and how far. I can use this book in the classroom to have the student’s measure things such as their desks, the door, etc. In addition, I can allow the students to weigh a plethora of things such as buttons, pencils, water, etc.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book about different types of measurement. This helps children grasp the concept that an teaspoon is different then a cup. This book is a great book to integrate math and literacy in the classroom. The visuals are wonderful and engaging. Its great to use as a read aloud or in your classroom library.

[Sarah Kasper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK! "Me and the Measure of Things" is an awesome book for every type of lesson imaginable that has to do with measurement. This book will be a great tool when introducing measurement to students in 1st or 2nd grade. Try some hands on activities like measure how tall each other is, or how big your students feet are!

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book uses everday items to put into perspective without just using a ruler. Ex. a postage stamp =1 inch. The book show equivelencied as well and has a directory in the back with measurement equivelency and throughout the book it mentions the weights and measures. The pictures really help in getting the ideas across.

[Yadira · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives examples of everyday items that we weigh and measure. It also shows different units of measurement and how they can be interchanged. "I drink eight ounces of juices every morning. That's the same as one cup." This book can be read and then as a lesson the tacher can bring different things the students can measure and weigh. This would provide a more hands-on way of learning.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another great book to introduce measurement. Easy to understand from a child's perpective, the book also makes great connections to every life. This book could also be use in a science lesson, since it compares the weight of wet and dry things. So when teaching students about weight, and measurement this is a go to book.

[Shira Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could be used to integrate literature into a math lesson. Throughout this book the character discusses the many ways in which people measure different things. Tools such as rulers and scales are discussed to inform children of how we measurement is taken.

[Tiffany Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is all about measurement. It gives examples of everyday items that we can weigh and measure as well as measuring units and equivalencies. This book could be used with a lesson on measurement.

[Alexis Levine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me and the Measure of THings would be great for children in grades k-2. I would use this book during a measurement unit to do a lesson on teaspoons and cups. This book is a great book to integrate math and literacy in the classroom.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me and the Measure of Things is a great book that teaches students about measurement. It can be used for students in 1-2 grade. It teaches students about how to distinguish between cups and teaspoons. It also shows students when it is appropriate to use a scale and a ruler.

[Maki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good review of how to measure things, but not a good book to start with to introduce the unit as it talks about every type of measurement and would be overwhelming to someone just learning to measure.

[Rose]

530.8 Swe

[Jade Saleem]

This is a math book measurement, specifically for first through third grade.

[Ayana Mishelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

We used this book on math night on our measuring game. This is a great book to intoduce measuring to any age group. Makes measurement fun and comprehensive

[Tania]

Great book to use to introduce measuring. It is very kid friendly and has a lot of amazing pictures in it. I use this to teach a science lesson about measuring.

[Brittany White · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an awesome book for many types of measurement lessons. Educators can use this book to introduce measurement to young children.

[Amanda Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome book! I used it to introduce my first graders to the concepts of measurements. I believe you could use it up to fourth grade as a review.

[Katie Pszczola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to use when teaching standard and non standard measurement! This story is all about measuring!

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great for and end of unit lesson on measuring. It sums all sorts if measurements and can help kids understand that measuring does not just happen with a ruler.

[Hannah Sheffield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be great to read to young children who are learning about measurement. I think it would be a great way to get them interested.

[Mina Saeed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teaches about different measurement tools:)