If You Were a Fraction

Trisha Shaskan concentrates on basics in this book about fractions. She focuses on the definition of a fraction as a part of a whole and emphasizes familiar units of halves, thirds, fourths, and eighths in examples. Francesca Carabelli’s delightful illustrations reinforce fractional notation with clear labels on fractional parts; however, the words numerator and denominator are neither defined nor used in the book, not even in the glossary. Concepts such as equivalent fractions and subdividing a fraction into smaller fractions are briefly mentioned, but Shaskan quickly returns to the fundamentals of fractional values. Hence, the book is a good resource for a very elementary treatment of the topic in the kindergarten or early first grade classroom, where it will entertain as well as instruct. The book is part of the “Math Fun” series and includes a glossary, an index, exercises, and additional resources. Reviewer: Carolyn Briles