Steve Swinburne

What's a pair? What's a dozen? - for teachers

Illustrated by Robin Brickman.
Published by Millbrook Press, 1996.
Hardcover 1-56294-182-8.

Book description

The world is filled with numbers. Figuring height, weight, the weather, or the cost of bubble gum requires that children understand numbers and number-related words.

Children encounter mathematical concepts early in life – from learning to count their fingers to identifying the numbers on a clock. In this bouncy, colorful photo-essay, Steve Swinburne introduces children to number-related words such as single, double, couple and prefixes such as uni-, bi-, and tri-. The book also includes a guessing game that invites young readers to identify pictures depicting the number-related words they find in the book.

How I was inspired

The idea for WHAT’S A PAIR, WHAT’S A DOZEN? came out of a particularly harried time getting our two kids ready to make the school bus. I remember one crazy morning, my wife and I bustling around the kitchen making bag lunches, writing notes to teachers, tying shoe laces. Once we had the kids on the bus, it dawned on me how many number-related phrases we’d used that morning: “Hurry, the bus will be here in a couple of minutes!” “Devon, find a pair of socks!” “We’re out of eggs. Put a dozen eggs on the grocery list.” I thought it might be neat to explore those math-related words in a photo-concept book.

Book Features

• Full-color photographs of kids
• Guessing game in back of book

Classroom Connections

• Become number sleuths! Look around the classroom and make a list as the students identify as many number-related words as they can. For example, “I see a couple of erasers!” “There’s a bicycle on the cover of that book!” “Heather is wearing a pair of earrings!”

Purchase at Amazon.com