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Saturday, June 15, 2019

Count on me, by Miguel Tanco. Tundra, Penguin Random House. 2019. $21.99 ages 5 and up


"I've tried them all,
but they just aren't
for me.

There is one thing I really
like, though ... MATH!

Math is all around us.
It's often hidden,
and I love finding it."

Anyone who knows me is likely to tell you that math is not my thing. The math this little redhead has a passion for is what I do love about it. It was while I was teaching in a grade two classroom that I came to appreciate looking at the world in terms of mathematics. My students and I would make neighborhood excursions looking for patterns, and shapes, and the way math really was a part of our larger world.

In this little one's family, everyone has a passion. While hers is not the same as theirs, hers is very important to her and that is evident on every page. She notices math everywhere she looks. She knows there are many other things that might strike her fancy; math remains top of the list.

She shares with readers the many places math is found in her daily activities, on her won, with her family and even on vacation. She uses what she knows about math every single day. We all do; perhaps, we are not as aware of it as she is.

Miguel Tanco does a very thorough and enjoyable job of showing his audience how enveloping mathematical concepts truly are. Each turn of the page shows exactly how prevalent: a checker board, the gradation in containers of art supplies, carpet design, cabinets, even the curve of a tuba ... limitless! Math is but one way to look at our surroundings.

In a personal notebook that follows the text, readers are treated to visuals of some of the math concepts explored throughout this very appealing book.
                                                                         
                                                                   

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