Amazon.com Review
Sometimes, just
sometimes, mind you, 20 guinea pigs can be too many. On a small green teetering boat in the middle of the sea, for example. That's when it might be a good idea for 10 to jump ship, leaving 10 floating guinea pigs (20-10=10). But soon one guinea pig is carried away by a bunch of balloons, leaving nine waving guinea pigs (10-1=9). And another swings off a rope, leaving eight seasick guinea pigs (9-1=8). Rodent by rodent, the furry little critters remove themselves from the scene, surfing, exploring, sneaking, fishing, until finally just one remains. But "one... can be fun."
In this sequel to her enormously popular addition picture book, One Guinea Pig Is Not Enough, Kate Duke now tackles subtraction. Giant numerals are incorporated into the seaworthy story line: a big purple number 4, for example, is wedged into the sand of the tiny tropical island and used as an anchor for the boat when all the remaining seafarers come ashore. The adorable, whimsically watercolored guinea pigs exude personality as they clamber all over the numbers, reminding young readers that, like a solitary guinea pig, math can be fun! To reinforce the subtraction lesson, the equation is printed after each artistic representation of the problem. The final scene shows all 20 guinea pigs reunited on the island, diving, daydreaming, and exploring to their hearts' content. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter
From Publishers Weekly
The irrepressible and mathematically driven guinea pigs are back, and the teaching of subtraction is the better for it. This time, the roly-poly rodents start out on a ship that threatens to sink if the occupancy isn't reduced from 20. Fortunately, 10 guinea pigs go for a swim right off the bat: "Twenty sinking guinea pigs minus ten diving guinea pigs leaves ten floating guinea pigs." Duke next reduces her group one by one, as a story unfolds the characters' arrival at a desert island, where they discover a hidden treasure and the joys of surfing. As in One Guinea Pig Is Not Enough, Duke plants oversize, colorful numerals prominently in each airy, rollicking double-page spread, and the guinea pigs comically capitalize on their presence (for the spread illustrating 5-1=4, the boat is shown lashed to the numeral four). The appropriate equation appears in the lower-right corner of the spread when each stage of subtraction is completed. Although Duke's last words to her audience are "And one can be fun," the final, textless illustration shows all the subtracted guinea pigs exuberantly reunited on the rather tiny island. Will they try multiplying next? Ages 3-7. (July)
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