One Hungry Cat (Hello Math Reader. Level 3) - Softcover

As soon as Joanne Rocklin learned to hold a pencil she began writing poems, stories, and diaries. She loved reading her stories and library books to her two younger sisters and has always lived within walking distance of a library.

Joanne has written more than 15 books for children. She gives frequent talks to classroom and adult audiences, and has been a speaker for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, the California Reading Association, and UCLA Extension.

Joanne has worked as a licensed psychologist and an elementary school teacher and now writes full time. She was a participant as a Writer-in-Residence in the 1995 University of Southern California Project, a collaborative university-school program to improve student writing and the teaching of writing in the classroom. She is on the Advisory Committee for the Museum of Tolerance Once Upon A World” Storytelling Program of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and is a founding member of California Readers.

Originally from Montreal, Canada, Joanne Rocklin has two grown sons, Michael and Eric, and live in Los Angeles with her husband, Gerry, and three cats.

Grade 1-3?A simple, funny story combined with some basic math concepts that are so well integrated into the narrative that most readers won't even notice they're there. Tom the cat likes "to bake yummy things," and he begins by making a dozen chocolate cookies. He invites two of his friends over to enjoy his treats, but this weak-willed feline devours the cookies before they arrive. The story proceeds in a predictable way as Tom continues to bake goodies, which he carefully divides to share fairly, and ends up eating them also. Throughout the story, subtle math problems arise. How does one divide eight cookies onto three plates, or cut a square cake into three equal pieces? How much time does Tom have before his friends arrive? Youngsters do not have to solve these puzzles while reading the story; they are presented at the back of the book. Simple hands-on activities reinforce the concepts (for the cookie example, it is suggested that the child count pennies onto drawn plates). The text is appropriate for independent reading, although it could be used as a one-on-one read-aloud as well. The zany cartoon art will no doubt appeal to children; Tom wears a large bow tie, striped apron, and shorts with stars on them. This solid easy reader has a lot to offer on many levels.?Dina Sherman, Brooklyn Children's Museum, NY
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