Customer Reviews

1+1=5: and Other Unlikely Additions

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Absolutely unique and a hit with my finicky second grade reader (he's very suspicious of picture books; they can be too babyish). At first he snorted with disdain. 1+1=5?? But the title and cover intrigued him and he started to read. Then he got hooked. He says it's very, very, very, very good! I say it's very clever and fun and a perfectly fresh idea that's a welcome read.

A quirky, funny and gorgeously illustrated treatment of --surprise!-- set theory! 1 + 1 = 5?!! Everyone knows it's two, that's dumb! But on the first page we see a bright illustration of two cheerful animals reading in a library (one is reading a book on mythical beasts and the other on barnyard buddies, hint, hint.) Turn the page and we see that 1 unicorn + 1 goat = 3 horns! And so it goes, each example partly a surprise, partly a joke, always a guessing game, and a fantastically fun and subtle intro into the concept of sets. A great addition (ha ha) to my library collection of fun math picture books.

I bought this book for a nine-year old greatgrandson. I thought it was imaginative and very cleverly illustrated. It will help make him umnderstand that things are not always as they seem.

How could 1 + 1 = 13? When it involves one octopus, one starfish, and 13 arms! This is a clever and original picture book, which gives a hidden math lesson in a whimsical and entertaining way. If kids can count, they can understand this book; yet, it also works for elementary-aged kids, who can use their knowledge of the world and math skills to try to figure out how two different sets of things could equal 5 or 110... or even 0. I strongly recommend this book -- it is pure fun and quirky mind-stretching all in one.