REVIEWS+

Squaresville Episode 1.001

Sometimes You Have to Round Down
NOT- -AVAIL-ABL-E.
COPY ISBN
Gr 3—5—Squaresville is a town where math pops up all over. In this live-action program, several groups of children use math to solve real-life problems. Mia, Brooklyn, and Matt are solving a mystery from an old letter using math skills to find a hidden treasure. Carlos and Josh are into baseball statistics. Gracie and her friends uncover a scandal at the candy sale. Unlucky Larry and his buddies need to collect enough aluminum cans to break his streak of bad luck. Each of their projects requires teamwork, problem solving, and a variety of math skills including estimation, money, time, division, multiplication, addition, and subtraction. The emphasis, however, is on rounding. All of them have to round things up or down to help find their solutions. The video features a multiethnic cast. Plot, acting, and dialogue occasionally are stilted or overdone. Still, it's interesting to see math skills shown in a real-life setting. Special features include a chance to meet the cast, and information about a teacher website. The main screen is problematic as menu choices are outside of the screen, but you can see enough of them to figure it out. Teachers introducing the concept of rounding will find this a good introduction.—Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary, Federal Way, WA
In this beautiful, heartrending, yet horrifying film, North Koreans tell their stories of imprisonment, sexual slavery, torture, murder, and escape to China or South Korea during the nearly 50-year regime of Kim Il Sung (1912—94). The interviews are illustrated through the interspersion of dance sequences, archival news footage, and drawings. Particularly interesting are the North Korean propaganda films celebrating Kim Il Sung as God and showing in the face of mass starvation happy workers, elaborate military displays, and the creation of a new flower in 1988 in honor of the 46th birthday of Kim's son and successor, Kim Jong Il. A valuable time line traces 20th-century events in Korea. Bonus features include previously unreleased footage of camp refugees. This mesmerizing film displays excellent production values and is highly recommended for Asia collections.—Kitty Chen Dean, formerly with Nassau Community Coll., Garden City, NY
Reviewed by Kitty Chen Dean , Dec 01, 2011

Be the first reader to comment.

Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

RELATED 

More
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?