#8 Poetry Book Review MARVELOUS MATH A BOOK OF POEMS

Content Area (Math) Poetry Book Review

MARVELOUS MATH A BOOK OF POEMS Collected by: Lee Bennett Hopkins Illustrated by: Karen Barbour

Bibliography: Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 1997. MATH A BOOK OF POEMS. Ill. By: Barbour, Karen. New York: Simon and Schuster, ISBN 068980658-2.

This topical anthology of sixteen poems was selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and includes two of his own poems as well as poems by Madeleine Comora, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Lillian M. Fisher, Betsy Franco, Joan Bransfield Graham, Felice Holman, Karla Kuskin, David McCord, Beverly McLoughland, Mary O’Neill, Ilo Orleans, J. Thomas Sparough, and Janet S. Wong. The book takes a look at mathematical concepts taught in school, primarily intermediate grades and some also address how math is related to life skills.

The poems TAKE A NUMBER, by Mary O’Neill, TO BUILD A HOUSE by Lillian Fisher, NATURE KNOWS IT’S MATH, by Joan Graham and TIME PASSES by Ilo Orleans give understanding to the question that kids ask “why do I need to know math.” In TAKE A NUMBER, Mary O’Neill asks us to image a world without math. Math is used to calculate time (TIME PASSES), divide the seasons (NATURE KNOWS IT’S MATH), and build a house (TO BUILD A HOUSE). These are only a few of the ways that answer the question “why do I need to know math”.

FRACTIONS by Lee Bennett Hopkins and SOS by Beverly McLoughland identify with the child who is learning new math facts. The colorful illustrations by Karen Barbour add to the mathematical concept. Particularly interesting is the illustration connected with SOS. With the overwhelming look of the child trying to take in the concept of long division, as a teacher, I see the child trying to think of different ways to keep the knowledge in, however, the poem says she can’t get the idea out of her head. The poem says “get it out of my head”, I think “keep it in the head”. FRACTIONS also merits attention with the umbrella, watermelon, cake, and hat divided into pieces. The illustration divides items that are easily recognizable by students in the same way that teachers teach fractions. The one poem that the analytical mind would appreciate is MATH MAKES SENSE TO ME by Betty Franco. Many times these students are the ones that feel out of place, or perhaps bored with mathematical concepts. The reason is it does make sense to them. I think they might appreciate this poem.

A note from the artist included in the book states that she used gouache paint (an opaque watercolor) and usually painted the backgrounds first and then the outlines for the figures, sometimes adding several layers of paints and other times using pencil for outline.

Reviews from HORN BOOK GUIDE suggest K-3 and SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL suggest 3-5. Although the colorful illustrations are appropriate for the younger students, the older kids would appreciate the poems themselves in relation to the math facts that they are addressing in the educational process. They would relate to fractions, division, decimals and multiplication as addressed in several of the poems.

REVIEWS

Horn Book Guide: Illustrated with bright color paintings, sixteen poems present different aspects of mathematics, from its usefulness (it helps prove your brother will always be three years younger than you) to its horror (poor Sammy has a long division problem stuck in his brain).


School Library Journal: Hopkins pulls together poems on mathematics, providing insights from writers such as Karla Kuskin, Janet S. Wong, and Lillian M. Fisher. Several selections share the predictable theme of the significance of math and numbers. Rebecca Kai Dotlich's title poem, for example, asks questions such as, "How fast does a New York taxi go?" and "How slow do feathers fall?" and suggests how to find the answers. Rhymed and open verse styles are represented, as are a variety of tones. Barbour's lively illustrations dance and play around the poems. Her boldly outlined watercolor figures, often wearing ill-fitting hats, fill the pages with childlike whimsy. Children will enjoy studying the oddly colored animals, numbers, and stylized, arched-browed people.

Connections:

SING-ALONG AND LEARN: MARVELOUS MATH by: Ken Sheldon, Scholastic Inc.

Sharing these poems through Poetry Breaks when instructing the various concepts addressed in this collection would give a little down time in a situation that is stressful to many students. It would help to relax the mind a little and take it off the “I don’t get it mode”.