Crash! Boom! a Math Tale

Toddler-PreS--A clever blend of scanned images of wooden unit blocks and a perfectly adorable hand-drawn blue elephant set the stage of this counting and building book. Young readers will instantly be familiar with the elephant's actions; he carefully places four blocks vertically on top of each other until, "WOW! I did it! It's as tall as ME!" The pause of a page turn is enough to build suspense for the inevitable crash that follows. Poor elephant cries but continues to rebuild his tower. Background details such as sunflower yellow walls with trim and a shamrock green rug exude joyfulness. The final page turn reveals some basic math equations: one large rectangle unit block, standing next to two, then four, then eight blocks that all equal the same size when placed next to one another vertically. VERDICT A simply presented look at block play and the mathematics behind it. Perfect for early learning collections in both public and school libraries.--Lisa Kropp, Lindenhurst Memorial Library, NY

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Unlike many other math titles, there is no note to parents or teachers and no directions to kids—it's just a simple tale of a child exploring with blocks. Elephant's pure joy in exploration and success are sure to be catching, so make sure the blocks are close at hand.
—Kirkus Reviews

A clever blend of scanned images of wooden unit blocks and a perfectly adorable hand-drawn blue elephant set the stage of this counting and building book...A simply presented look at block play and the mathematics behind it. Perfect for early learning collections in both public and school libraries.
—School Library Journal

Attention, aspiring architects and engineers: a first builder's blueprint for constructing really, really tall buildings has arrived!...The tenacious elephant, clad in a purple sweater, appears on every page, and his expressive face conveys his every emotion, obvious in this simple story for very young children who want to construct with expertise and count as they go.
—Booklist