Twelve Snails to One Lizard: A Tale of Mischief and Measurement [Hardcover]

Susan Hightower (Author), Matt Novak (Illustrator)

Book Description

As Milo Beaver works industriously to fix the leak in his dam, Bubba Bullfrog plays a big joke on him, in a humorous tale that teaches youngsters about the concepts of measurement.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2. While youngsters will snicker at the goofy green iguanas, the multitudinous pink snails with their curly purple shells, Milo Beaver, Bubba Bullfrog, and Betty Jane Boa, they'll remain clueless to the process of measurement. Measuring is supposed to eliminate the approximation of an eyeball guesstimate, but the concept is garbled here. In Hightower's incremental world, an inch equals one snail. So, by extension, there are 36 snail-lengths corresponding to the measurement Milo needs to gnaw the three-foot-long log needed to patch his dam. At least that's intellectual (and lazy) Bubba Bullfrog's solution to dim bulb Milo's dilemma. The "solution" gets mathematically?and logistically?less complicated as longer animals become the larger units corresponding to a foot and a yard. But, regardless of the number of creatures required, the measuring tools all have their shortcomings as they wander off, act silly, threaten, or otherwise prove unwilling to line up and be counted. Ultimately, the appropriate lengths don't matter anyway since the joke's on Milo?and readers?when Bubba goes home and retrieves his yardstick to prove that Betty Jane is exactly one yard long. Like Hightower's text, Novak's simple and colorful acrylics are, unfortunately, uninspired.?John Sigwald, Unger Memorial Library, Plainview, TX
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A math lesson (inches, feet, and yards) in story form: Milo the Beaver needs to cut a branch exactly 36 inches long to bridge a gap in his dam. Bubba Frog suggests different ways of measuring it--line up 36 healthy snails, feelers to tails, or 3 iguana lizards, nose to tail, or Betty Jane Boa all by herself. But the snails are too slow lining up, the lizards are too frisky, Betty Jane is more interested in putting the squeeze on Milo, and it turns out that Bubba has a yardstick at home. It's all pretty silly, but the relationships between these three units of measure will probably stick in children's minds. Novak's acrylic-rendered critters share a family resemblance with certain Saturday-morning cartoons; a picnicking pair of mice straight from the pages of his Mouse TV (1994) are silent observers of all the shenanigans. (Picture book. 4-7) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers; 1St Edition edition (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689804520
• ISBN-13: 978-0689804526
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #302,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Twelve Snails to One Lizard, June 17, 2000

By 

Joyce Cromer (Mobile, Alabama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twelve Snails to One Lizard: A Tale of Mischief and Measurement (Hardcover)

This is a delightful book about the problems a beaver has measuring a log to repair the dam on his pond. His friend, Bubba Bullfrog, offers him many non-standard measurements that would be appropriate to use. All prove to be a pain for Milo, in more ways than one!Bubba realizes he has a yardstick at home to prove he's correct. What a great way to help children learn about equivalent measure! I recommend it highly.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource for Teaching Measurement Equivalents, June 29, 2009

By 

stuffedmango (Utah, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Twelve Snails to One Lizard: A Tale of Mischief and Measurement (Hardcover)

A whimsical tale captures the attention of readers of all ages as we discover equivalent measurements. It is a non-threatening way to teach the use of different forms of measurement. Not only can you use twelve snails to measure, but one lizard will work as well since twelve snails is the same as one lizard...now, what about the snake?

This book is a must have in any elementary teacher's repertoire of math literature! Even better, in any parent's bookshelf to solidify math concepts. Math is not intuitive and must be taught in the home if you want your child(ren) to succeed in math at school and in life!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review, August 22, 2011

By 

Tanya - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Twelve Snails to One Lizard: A Tale of Mischief and Measurement (Hardcover)

Very timely shipment and the book was in condition as stated. I will definitely be buying from this person again. Thank you