by Suzanne Slade, Illustrated by Erin E. Hunter
Sylvan Dell, $8.95, 32 pages
Kids love looking at bugs. Now they can practice their math skills while learning about the world’s insects in Multiply on the Fly. Author Suzanne Slade combines nature, poetic writing and math to teach multiplication in a fun and engaging way. Luna moths, fireflies, walking sticks, soldier ants and many more insects come together to help young readers hone their multiplication techniques. Erin Hunter specializes in entomological and botanical illustrations. As a result, her artwork is beautiful and children will enjoy studying the intricate flora and fauna found on each page. An additional six pages of learning activities include sections on identifying insect body parts (i.e. wings, thorax, antennae, abdomen), matching bugs to vivid behavioral descriptions, comparing and contrasting types of insects, and learning about life cycles (egg, larvae, pupa, adult). To reinforce the book’s math theme, readers will discover how to use an insect multiplication table and complete fun problems such as 6 ants X 5 eyes each = How many eyes (6 X 5)? Parents and teachers can take the book’s lessons even further by consulting 60+ pages of cross-curricular activities found on the publisher’s website.
Elizabeth Franklin