Cuddly Kittens

PreS-Gr 1—These brightly colored titles are illustrated with inviting childlike cartoon animals. The language, however, is limited and often repetitive. Looking back at much older books covering similar concepts shows the genius of Tana Hoban in Count and See (Macmillan, 1972) and that of Bruce McMillan as seen in Eating Fractions (Scholastic, 1991). Kittens discusses adopting kittens, and arms belonging to some unknown person remove them one by one; those left are described in fractions. In the end, all of the kittens have been adopted by the same family and the litter is made whole again. The sum total continually changes throughout the book-first 4 parts equal a whole, then 3 parts, then 2, until only one kitten is left. This is an odd and confusing way to introduce the topic. Monarch is just plain boring because all of the cartoon butterflies look the same and there are huge clumps of them. In Piglets, the first 10 piglets are all one color and then the next 10 are spotted. Children are asked to count only from 11 up, and the focus is on counting the spotted piglets. Many children will wonder why they aren't supposed to count the first 10. The format, color, size, and shape of these books are appealing but they won't advance math skills and the stories are nonexistent.—Erlene Bishop Killeen, Stroughton Area School District, WI