Tyrannosaurus Math [Hardcover]

Michelle Markel (Author), Doug Cushman (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3—From the moment Tyrannosaurus Math (T-Math for short) is hatched, he views the world in mathematical terms. He begins with simple addition (how many siblings have also hatched) and proceeds through such skills as grouping (counting a herd of triceratops, though he's not yet old enough to consume them), ordering and comparing (who ate the most dragonflies), and geometric shapes (is that meteor a sphere or a cube?). In all, 15 concepts are demonstrated with clear, logical, and amusing examples. The skills are also identified and explained at the back of the book. Markel never misses an opportunity to weave math into the lively text: "At his full size, nothing was scarier than the sight of T-Math thundering through the forest, chewing on a problem in his head." Cushman's acrylic cartoons, with their clean lines and vibrant colors, add considerably to readers' enjoyment. The artwork clearly illustrates the math problems while gleefully depicting the dinosaurs. This is a clever addition to the growing number of books that make a sometimes daunting subject both more understandable and just plain fun.—Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
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About the Author

TYRANNOSAURUS MATH, a close relative of Tyrannosaurus rex, lived in the late Cretaceous Period, 65 to 68 million years ago, in Western North America. He and his siblings were eleven to fourteen feet tall, weighed five to seven tons, had two-and-a-half foot long arms, two-and-a-half foot long feet, and teeth that were ten inches long!

MICHELLE MARKEL, the author of five children's books, has also written for national newspapers and taught in elementary schools. Tyrannosaurus Math grew out of an experience in the classroom: "One day I was teaching math to second graders. Knowing how kids loathe word problems, I invented some of my own, using dinosaurs. The kids loved them." The rest is prehistory. Michelle lives near Los Angeles.

DOUG CUSHMAN, a Northern Californian now living in Paris, has written and/or illustrated more than one hundred children's books. In high school, Doug created comic books lampooning his teachers, and he sold them to classmates for five cents a piece.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Tricycle Press (August 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582462828
• ISBN-13: 978-1582462820
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 0.4 x 11.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #639,473 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Was it because she was born in the dream factory of Los Angeles, site of giant donuts and fairy tale cottages? Was it because of the outrageous stories her father told at bedtime? Maybe it was the books themselves, the fauve colors of Ludwig Bemelman's Madeline and later the droll prose of William Steig, that inspired Michelle to write for children. She has imagined, and published, picture books of all stripes: fiction, non-fiction (including DREAMER FROM THE VILLAGE: The Story of Marc Chagall) and most recently, a humorous arithmetic book called TYRANNOSAURUS MATH.

You can find out more about Michelle by visiting her blog at http://michellemarkel.blogspot.com/ or her website at www.michellemarkel.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Many youngsters develop a distaste and even a fear of math at a young age, but this book just shouts the word FUN!, November 5, 2009

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tyrannosaurus Math (Hardcover)

One morning a little tyrannosaurus burst from his shell on a volcanic plain and immediately began to add up his fingers and toes to make a "number sentence." It didn't take long for his mother to decide upon the name Tyrannosaurus Math. His brothers and sisters began emerging from their shells and he began to add them up. POP! POP! When he grew older, he was able to count the "footprints of the ornithomimus." Two, four, six, eight . . . counting was getting even more fun. He spotted a "herd of triceratops" and counted them by fives, then by tens. He quickly "became a huge show-off around his family" and began to count dragonflies as he competed against his brother.

Tyrannosaurus Math's skills blossomed the older he got and his mother said he was a "colossal genius." He was learning addition, subtraction, number sentences, ordering and comparing whole numbers, inverse relationships/operations, symmetry, multiplication, reasoning, organizing data with graphs, arrays, division, fractions, nonstandard measurement and estimation. He tromped and stomped his way across the landscape showing off his math skills and having a great time. His was learning that math could be very useful and even his brother wanted to learn more of his "tricks." How about you?

Many youngsters develop a distaste and even a fear of math at a young age, but this book just shouts the word FUN! Most children haven't met a dinosaur they don't like and the combination of them with math concepts makes this book a winner. The concepts are briefly introduced, but are made simple and understandable. Mind you, this is not an in depth look, but rather a brief, but exiting look at math. The artwork is bold, vibrant and meshes well with the text. This book's equation is math - fear = fun!

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes Math Fun, July 5, 2011

By 

H. Chapman (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tyrannosaurus Math (Hardcover)

We fell in love with this book. It makes math fun and shows how applicable math is in our lives.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for the dino and math lover in your house, February 24, 2011

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A. Williams - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tyrannosaurus Math (Hardcover)

I have twin 7-year-old twin boys. One loves anything related to reptiles and dinosaurs, the other is a math whiz. When I found this book online, I knew it would be a winner. Boy was I right! They both loved it! It really does cover a lot of math facts and it tells a cute story about a family of dinosaurs.