How Tall, How Short, How Far Away? [Paperback]

David A. Adler (Author), Nancy Tobin (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Introduces several measuring systems such as the Egyptian, inch-pound, and metric system.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-A lively discussion of the history of measurement that incorporates some hands-on activities. Students may be surprised to learn that in ancient Egypt, parts of the body were used as measuring tools; a digit was the width of one finger, and a palm was the width of four fingers. Terms such as span and cubit are similarly defined. Explanations progress from Egyptian methods to the customary (or inch-pound) to the metric system. Readers are encouraged to use these various systems to measure their height and think about what units they could use for distances. The leisurely pace of the presentation picks up significantly in the last third of the book and readers might feel they are being rushed through two final activities that detail how to make a metric ruler, discuss odometers, and suggest activities to gauge distances in kilometers. The oversized white print against the bold background colors is easy to read and the full- and double-page computer-generated illustrations on every spread will engage readers.
Edith Ching, St. Albans School, Mt. St. Alban, Washington, DC
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

From Booklist

Ages 5^-8. From the author and illustrator of Fraction Fun (1996) and Shape Up! (1998), this graphically dynamic volume introduces the concept of measurement. Adler explains how systems of measuring developed in ancient Egypt and Rome; how measurements became standardized; the origin of the metric system; and methods of measuring length, height, and distance. Bold color and creative design (especially the backgrounds of subtly designed rulers) give the pages visual zip. At the same time, the text's simplicity makes the ideas clear and easy to follow. A good basic book for children who are learning measurement using either the customary or metric system or (more likely) both. Carolyn Phelan --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 28 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823416321
• ISBN-13: 978-0823416325
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 9.2 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,910 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Teens > Science & Technology > Mathematics
  • #11 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( A ) > Adler, David A.
  • #21 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Teens > Science & Technology > General

More About the Author

I write both fiction and non-fiction. I begin my fiction with the main character. The story comes later. Of course, since I'll be spending a lot of time with each main character, why not have him or her be someone I like? Andy Russell is based, loosely, on a beloved member of my family. He's fun to write about and the boy who inspired the character is even more fun to know. Cam Jansen is based even more loosely on a classmate of mine in the first grade whom we all envied because we thought he had a photographic memory. Now, especially when my children remind me of some promise they said I made, I really envy Cam's amazing memory. I have really enjoyed writing about Cam Jansen and her many adventures. For my books of non-fiction I write about subjects I find fascinating. My first biography was Our Golda: The Life of Golda Meir. To research that book, I bought a 1905 set of encyclopedia. Those books told me what each of the places Golda Meir lived in were like when she lived there. I've written many other biographies, including books about Martin Luther King, Jr; George Washington; Abraham Lincoln; Helen Keller; Harriet Tubman; Anne Frank; and many others in my Picture Book Biography series. I've been a Yankee and a Lou Gehrig fan for decades so I wrote Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man. It's more the story of his great courage than his baseball playing. Children face all sorts of challenges and it's my hope that some will be inspired by the courage of Lou Gehrig. I am working now on another book about a courageous man, Janusz Korczak. My book One Yellow Daffodil is fiction, too, but it's based on scores of interviews I did with Holocaust survivors for my books We Remember the Holocaust, Child of the Warsaw Ghetto, The Number on My Grandfather's Arm, and Hiding from the Nazis. The stories I heard were compelling. One Yellow Daffodil is both a look to the past and to the future, and expresses my belief in the great spirit and strength of our children. I love math and was a math teacher for many years, so it was fun for me to write several math books including Fraction Fun, Calculator Riddles, and Shape Up! Fun with Triangles and Other Polygons. In my office I have this sign, "Don't Think. Just Write!" and that's how I work. I try not to worry about each word, even each sentence or paragraph. For me stories evolve. Writing is a process. I rewrite each sentence, each manuscript, many times. And I work with my editors. I look forward to their suggestions, their help in the almost endless rewrite process. Well, it's time to get back to dreaming, and to writing, my dream of a job. David A. Adler is the author of more than 175 children's books, including the Young Cam Jansen series. He lives in Woodmere, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I can't believe it!, June 16, 2009

By 

Jeanne E. Kasten "mandaladreamer" (Placitas, NM) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How Tall, How Short, How Faraway (Library Binding)

I can't believe Holiday House would let an error of that enormity appear on the front page and inside pages of this book. Faraway is NOT one word unless it is used as an adjective (e.g. a faraway look).
How stupid is that? And how sad that this book is added to a list of other children's books that have grammatical errors in the titles and texts.