1 + 1 = 5 by LaRochelle & Sexton

1 + 1 = 5 and Other Unlikely Additions

by David LaRochelle

Illus. by Brenda Sexton

Copyright 2010

Sterling Kids - ages 4-8

32 pages

I sent my copy of 1 + 1 = 5 to a friend who expressed interest in using the book in her classroom, so I can't quote from it but I'll give you an idea what "Other Unlikely Additions" means. Say, you take 1 family of cats that contains a mother cat, a father cat and a kitten and add them to a dog family that contains a mother dog and one pup. 1 cat family + 1 dog family = 5 animals. That's the kind of wacky addition you'll find in 1 + 1 = 5.

When I first opened the book, I thought it was a little strange but I must have been in one of my moods. The second time I read it, I fell in love with the bold, brightly-colored illustrations and realized that the idea of adding groups together is one we all eventually learn and why not make the learning fun and colorful? For youngsters, 1 + 1 = 5 will give them a head start on the kind of critical thinking involved in grouping sets together and will also give reader and child a lot of laughs. The book is really quite funny. The friend who inherited my copy read it to her 6-year-old and they both gave it a big thumbs-up.

Note #1: Reviewers at Amazon used the words fresh, imaginative and cleverly illustrated. One added that it's not "babyish". I agree with those reviewers 100% and thought you'd like to hear their thoughts in addition to my own.

Note #2 from the author: "If any teachers or librarians are interested, there is a free teaching guide and plenty of extension activities for 1 + 1 = 5 at my website, www.davidlarochelle.net."

Many thanks to Sterling for this unexpected review book!

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