Mrs. Riley Bought Five Itchy Aardvarks and Other Painless Tricks for Memorizing Science Facts (Adventures in Memory) (Library Binding)

by Brian P. Cleary (Author), J. P. Sandy (Illustrator)
Key Phrases: gerbil food, Old Ham

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 3–6—A brief introductory chapter defines mnemonics, illustrates a few of the techniques with widely known examples, and encourages readers to begin developing their own. With no further jargon, the remaining chapters apply these strategies to random scientific facts in the areas of "Earth and Space Science," "Physical Science," "Life Science," and "The Scientific Method." Acronyms, acrostic sentences, visualizations, rhymes, songs, and even a pseudo theatrical script are all demonstrated. Readers can learn how to remember simple facts such as that the Earth orbits the Sun and the Moon orbits the Earth, or more challenging information such as the elements of the Mohs hardness scale. A brief background paragraph in a contrasting white box introduces the scientific information. Occasional "Read On" and "Extra Credit" inserts provide more detail or recommend further reading. Colorful cartoons match the lightheartedness of the presentation. Teachers will find several examples useful during related lessons, though in some cases the examples require more memorization than the facts themselves. Further reading and glossary entries focus on the scientific background presented, rather than on mnemonics.—Carol S. Surges, McKinley Elementary School, Wauwatosa, WI
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Product Description
With so many things to remember and so little time, what's a kid to do? Brian P. Cleary has come up with a whole book of tips for how to tackle tricky science facts. This book is bursting with mnemonic devices, poems, songs, and more. Need to keep track of the order of the planets? Mel can help. As in: Mel's Very Excited Ma Just Served Us Nachos. How about photosynthesis? Sing a song about it to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"! Brian also explains how kids can use the ideas in the book to create their very own memory tricks.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Library Binding: 48 pages
• Publisher: Millbrook Press; Library Binding edition (October 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822578190
• ISBN-13: 978-0822578192
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #687,006 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An invaluable supplement to elementary and middle school children's libraries, April 18, 2009

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Part of the "Adventures in Memory" series, "Mrs. Riley Bought Five Itchy Aardvarks" is a picturebook meant to introduce children to simple mnemonic tools for memorizing scientific facts. The title is an easy way to memorize the six different animal classifications (Mammals, Reptiles, Birds, Fish, Insects, and Amphibian), but the helpful tips and tricks include far more than just catchy phrases. There's a rap about light ("When light reaches somethin' / like a pool or a pumpkin: / reflected, refracted, absorbed"), a mock play about the ecosystem that shows cartoon characters anthropomorphizing the role of different forces ("Here are DeShawn and Denise, two decomposers... Our decomposers are using karate chops to break down everything around them. Decomposers are usually fungi and bacteria."), a very silly song about photosynthesis ("Pho-to-syn-the-sis / helps us all to thrive. / Animals, plants, and people too- / it keeps us all alive!") and much more. An invaluable supplement to elementary and middle school children's libraries, and a useful go-to resource for science teachers (or parents!) who want to make sure the basic facts stick in their kids' heads! Highly recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything from Jumprope Songs to Rap!, February 8, 2009

By	AllAboutWords (Queens, NY) - See all my reviews

I am a long-time fan of Brian P. Cleary's Words are Categorical books and his and Brian Gable's Math is Categorical books also. When I saw that he wrote a book with memorization tips for science, I just had to check it out. It really did take the pain out of teaching many of the items my 5th graders are tested on in Science. He uses everything from first letter-mnemonics to song and visual memory tricks to make a book that helps me to teach science. His "Read On!" blurbs offer the names of books with more information on each topic, and that has been invaluable. For me, a great investment!

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars His other books are better..., January 24, 2009

By	Mountain Princess "Ticee" (Healy, ALASKA) - See all my reviews

The layout of this book should have been my first clue. While his other books are "targeted" to first and second graders (even though my 5th grader still loves them and learns from them), these don't have the playfulness in the other books (Words are CATegorical). The mnemonics are hard to memorize, most of them are not even applicable to what my kids are learning (and with a 2nd grader and 5th grader you'd think they would fall somewhere in that spectrum).
Overall I'd say spend your money on his word books but not one these (the same goes for the math series (Math is CATegorical).