Room for Ripley by Stewart J. Murphy

I have read and used several of Murphy's mathematical themed books in my classrooms. The pairing of story with a sometimes hard-to-conceptualize topic has helped children understand in a more authentic manner. I also like that the author is from Evanston, Illinois (not far from the Quad-Cities). Murphy has written a whole series of books centered around mathematical concepts and are "leveled" to help match a subject with reading ability (levels 1-3)--which of course these are subjective.

He also adds end activities to do to learn more about the concept the book was concentrating on and sometimes more books with similar concepts. The illustrations by Sylvie Wickstrom are well done and add to the explanations and story. The characters are believable and talk like kids getting a fish for the first time would. Murphy manages to integrate the measurement information without simply listing a chart of conversions. Children can make concrete connections with a better idea of what a cup looks like compared to a gallon, etc. There are really two stories that can be read here: one about a boy getting a new fish and sharing it with his older sister and one about the mathematical concept of measuring capacity with nonmetric units. Students in the past have enjoyed these books and I believe that as much quality literature as possible should be used in our classrooms--whether about math, reading, social studies, or science topics. Kids love stories and slipping in some math never hurts…