Mary Had a Little Worm: Book Suggestions for Math, History, Geography, and Our Planet

Clever verses in rhyme turn mathematical equations, history, science and geography into language that is playful, sometimes wacky, and never dull.

Math

One Leaf Rides the Wind
Ages: 4 - 8 yrs.
Author: Celeste Davidson Mannis    Illustrator: Susan Kathleen Hartung
Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc., $15.99 (Hardcover)

On its simplest level, this is a counting book, the numbers one to ten. On a second level, it conveys both in pictures and in non-intrusive footnotes at the bottom of each text page something of the spirit and contents of a Japanese garden. And on a third tier, the reader and listener become aware of the rhythm and form of the text: the three-line free-verse narrative on each and every page is an example of haiku, a form of poetry that originated in Japan hundreds of years ago.

Mathematickles!
Ages: 4 - 8 yrs.
Author: Betsy Franco   Illustrator: Steven Salerno
Margaret K. McElderry Books

Beginning with autumn, Franco presents each of the seasons as a series of math puzzles progressing from simple addition and subtraction (“holes + nuts – nuts = squirrel hide & seek”) to easy equations (“1/2 w = v = flying geese”) in this refreshingly playful approach to the language of numbers.

Math Fables
Ages: 4 - 8 yrs.
Author: Greg Tang   Illustrator: Heather Cahoon
Scholastic, $16.95 (Hardcover)

This collection—Tang’s sixth in a series of math-oriented titles—develops the concept of grouping using the numbers from 1 to 10. A note at the end encourages math-related activities based on the book.

Marvelous Math
Ages: 5 & Up
Author: Lee Bennett Hopkins   Illustrator: Karen Barbour
Simon & Schuster, $17.00 (Hardcover)

Math is not a mystery, it is part of our everyday lives as this inviting collection of sixteen poems makes clear. Karen Barbour’s lush illustrations—richly colored and highly detailed—make this a visual treat as well.

History

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
Ages: 4 - 8 yrs.
Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow   Illustrator: Christopher Bing
Hardprint Books, $17.95 (Hardcover)

From marblized endpapers to documents that actually unfold, young readers will feel like they’re holding history in their hands as they read Longfellow’s classic words and follow Paul Revere on his history-making ride.

George Washington's Cows
Ages: 5 - 7 yrs.
Author: David Small
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $6.95 (Paperback)

Coddled cows upstairs, pigs running the household, and lecturing sheep-- is it any wonder that George Washington fled home to brave the frosty Delaware? Told in rollicking verse and virtuoso watercolors, Small's book is a model of economy of line and narrative moving so fast you don't have time to wonder or stop chuckling.

The Ancestors are Singing
Ages: 8 & Up
Author: Tony Johnston
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $16.00 (Hardcover)

Although Mexico and the United States share an extensive boundary, many Americans know little about the culture of our south-of-the-border neighbors. But young readers of Tony Johnston's newest poetry collection will have an eye-opening introduction to a large and diverse country. In 29 free verse poems, Johnston touches on subjects both ancient and modern, while Karen Barbour's illustrations use a primitive style that effectively complements the text, and are surprisingly vibrant in black and white.