One Brown Bear by Anne-Marie Labrecque and Mathieu Dionne St-Arneault - ADVISABLE

One Brown Bear: The World of Numbers by Anne-Marie Labrecque illustrated by Mathieu Dionne St-Arneault  PICTURE BOOK Twirl, 2023. $17 9791036358517 

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

10 digits allow you to write all the numbers, which represent amounts, calculations, or counting something. Practice recognizing each number that is represented in five ways: in digits, with fingers, with dice, and in lower case and cursive letters. Have fun counting the colorful animals from 1 to 20. Can you count higher? 

Labrecque's PHD in written language learning shines in One Brown Bear. The pictures and text engage young readers (or counters) with cute animals doing funny things. I really like how she shows all the ways a number can be written or represented.

PGPowers

The Power of Snow by Bob Raczka and Bryony Clarkson - ADVISABLE

The Power of Snow by Bob Raczka illustrated by Bryony Clarkson. PICTURE BOOK NON-FICTION Millbrook Press, 2023. $21. 9781728450919 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

The Power of Snow is all about using math exponents. A snowstorm starts with two snowflakes (2 to the first power). With two to the second power we have four snowflakes. The exponents increase by one more on each page until we have 2 to the fourteenth power which creates a huge snowstorm. How many snowflakes is that? 

I thought that The Power of Snow is a fantastic way to get kids familiar with exponents in math. It is very visual and exciting to see the number of snowflakes double each time the exponent number increases. Raczka also uses lively rhyming words and cute animals on each page to catch a child's interest. 

PGPowers

One Chicken Nugget by Tadgh Bentley - ESSENTIAL

One Chicken Nugget by Tadgh Bentley. PICTURE BOOK. Balzer + Bray (Harper), 2023. $19. 9780062689825 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

Celeste is tired of the Frank the monster scaring off her customers and her Chicken Nugget Food Truck when he comes every day for food. Thinking deeply, she decides to hold a 30 day contest - whoever can eat a doubling of nuggets every day for 30 days will get free chicken nuggets for life. Frank is ready for the challenge! Bentley has created a delightful spin on the ancient tale made famous by Demi’s One Grain of Rice. Kis will have fun trying to see how many days they can eat double of something. And the math is always an interesting challenge - especially if done without calculators. 

Cindy Mitchell, Library Teacher, MLS 

The Brilliant Calculator by Jan Lower and Susan Reagan - ADVISABLE

The Brilliant Calculator: How Mathematician Edith Clarke Helped Electrify America by Jan Lower, illustrated by Susan Reagan. PICTURE BOOK BIOGRAPHY Calkins Creek (Astra), 2023 $19.00 9781662680069 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

Born in 1882, Edith Clarke loved math and engineering and wanted to use it to make modern life better. But those paths were closed to women. She persisted in her own way first teaching, and then attending college, even if she was older than the others, and teaching more and heading back to school herself. In 1921 her Clarke Calculator helped electric engineers complete needful calculations faster and landed her a job as America's first female electrical engineer, improving electrical transmission and telephone lines for all. Clarke never stops teaching, never stops inventing, and never stops learning. 

I love a good biography that tells the story of another woman who forged ahead despite the odds - and brought her name out from obscurity. While a longer read for a picture book biography, it is not unwieldy. Lots of information about Edith is easily available on the Internet. Combine with the many female picture book biographies available for a great unit of study. Edith is white. 

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS