Anno's Math Games

By reinventing the wheel, the author of Anno's Counting House, Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar and the recent Socrates and the Three Little Pigs brings to math an intuitive understanding of numbers, sequence and order, which he passes on to readers. He starts with the concept of comparison and difference: in a row of blue squares, a red circle sticks outit's different. He then introduces the idea of proximity: he shows a cat and a mouse, stuck together back to back; and that new things are created by combining two or more disparate objects (including ideas and language), as in putting wheels or handles on things. Then he discusses the meaning of ordered sequence, hierarchy and orientation as in a deck of cards. However, unlike Humpty Dumpty, what one takes apart can be put back together again. Anno emphasizes the importance of knowing one's place in the order of things by talking about the Cartesian coordinate system that locates and places things. Once again, Anno proves that thinking need not be abstract and dry, and math is more than mere measuring sticks. Ages 3-8. (October)