From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2—Twelve children gather together to celebrate Corkscrew the pig's birthday, but they have trouble deciding what games to play. Every time they form teams and begin an activity that will work for all 12 youngsters, Corkscrew and another guest, a lively parrot, interrupt, throwing off the even sides and taking over the action. The final game, Ultimate Frisbee, needs two groups of seven players, so the animals are accepted as teammates and the party ends on a happy note. The endearing creatures add humor and interest to a rather mundane story that seems contrived to use multiplication in the forming of the teams. The inclusion of simple math problems (1 x 12 = 12; 2 x 6 = 12; etc.) doesn't add to the text. While the birthday party theme and the pets may attract readers, the most appealing part of the book is the charming watercolors that show an engaging cast of neighborhood children, messy party decorations, the pig dressed up in bows, and the parrot causing chaos.—
Erlene Bishop Killeen, Stroughton Area School District, WI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
About the Author
DONNA JO NAPOLI is an acclaimed author best known for her fantasy novels. She lives in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania with her husband and five children.
RICHARD TCHEN is an author and a project coordinator for the Math Forum, an online mathematics education center. He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
ANNA CURREY has illustrated several books for children. She lives with her family near Bath, England.
