The Family Bookshelf
By Bob Walch

"Corkscrew Counts:
A Story About Multiplication"
(Henry Holt) by Donna Jo Napoli and Richard Tchen.
Illustrated by Anna Currey

The Audience: Worked into this story are examples of how math and, in this case, multiplication do have everyday applications. For children in the primary grades this is a nice way of making the point without turning it into a classroom lesson. After you finish the story, try to think of other ways you and your child can use this math skill. (32 pages)

The Issue: Everyone wants to play games at a party but the numbers don't work out correctly.

The Content: Corkscrew, a little pig, is celebrating his birthday. His family and neighborhood friends have planned a surprise party but what do you do at a pig's birthday celebration? Eat and play games of course! But with so many people at the party, someone has to figure out how to make the numbers work so everyone can play. Thanks to Corkscrew and his buddy Parrot (and their  skills) the numbers work so no one is left out.

The Message: Multiplication skills can come in handy.

Before retiring from the classroom, Bob Walch taught English in Santa Barbara and Carmel for 39 years. His reviews of children's literature appear in Central Coast newspapers and online at the Reading Tub, Roundtable Reviews and My Shelf.