Math Fables Too

Every child’s journey in math begins with counting. But it is the next step that is the most important of all: the transition from counting - or thinking one at a time - to adding - which requires thinking in larger, more efficient groups. Unfortunately, many kids never make this critical transition and secretly count their whole lives. No wonder they find math difficult!

Examples|Reviews

My goal in writing this book is to help kids learn to count, and more importantly, to lay the groundwork for addition. From the time children are first exposed to numbers, I believe the secret is to encourage them to see numbers in terms of other numbers. When kids learn to decompose single digit numbers at an early age, everything else - place value, arithmetic, problem-solving - follows naturally.

In each fable, I begin by introducing numbers as a single, countable group. As the stories unfold, I break the numbers into smaller groupings. The idea is to shift the emphasis from counting to adding, and from concrete to abstract thinking. I believe that making this shift at an early age is critical. Later, it is the kids who are comfortable thinking abstractly who do well in math.

In writing this book, I have several non-math objectives as well. First, I hope to encourage kids to become more interested in science by building on their natural fascination with animals. Each fable offers interesting, factual information together with clever problem-solving strategies. I am particularly interested in the use of tools by animals - behavior once thought unique to humans. Second, I intentionally use words that are difficult for my target audience, 3 to 7 year olds. I believe this is an ideal age to teach vocabulary since kids often read the same book many times.

Finally, I hope Math Fables Too, like Math Fables, offers kids positive messages that will benefit them in life as well as in school. The ultimate goal of all my books - The Grapes of Math, Math For All Seasons, The Best of Times, Math Appeal, Math-terpieces and Math Potatoes - is happy, hard-working, smart kids who think creatively, independently, and love to learn.