SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: BUSY STREET
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.edmiller.com/
CITY: New York
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
LAST VOLUME: SATA 307
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1964, in NY.
EDUCATION:Parsons School of Design, B.F.A. (illustration), 1986.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Illustrator and author of children’s books and educational tools. Crown Publishers, New York, NY, paste-up artist, c. 1987; Scholastic, Inc., New York, NY, junior designer; Random House/Crown Publishers, designer, then associate art director, 1989-96; full-time author and illustrator for Edward Elementary. Founder, Spagheddie Art Group (volunteer muralists), New York, NY. Designer of greeting cards for Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Edward Miller began his career as a book designer for New York City publishers and he now produces original, self-illustrated children’s stories such as Elf Elementary, Captain Barnacle’s Aquarium, The Tooth Book: A Guide to Healthy Teeth and Gums, and Recycling Day. Miller’s digital art also appears in picture books by noted nonfiction authors such as Paul Showers, David A. Adler, and Franklyn Branley, as well as in books based on the popular “Minions” animated film series. The civic-minded author/artist is also a creative visionary who founded the Spagheddie Art Group. Together with other volunteers, he creates colorful murals in parks and schools throughout his New York City hometown, his goal to dot the urban landscape with whimsy.
Elf Elementary finds a young elf named Franklin looking forward to his first day at elf school, where he will study Christmas traditions and learn skills—how to deal with fireplace soot, for example—that are useful to a future Santa’s helper. A Publishers Weekly critic cited the “graphically crisp” images that pair with Miller’s engaging holiday story. A more widely applicable skill set is presented in his self-illustrated The Monster Health Book: A Guide to Eating Healthy, Being Active, and Feeling Great for Monsters and Kids!, in which a likable green monster presents healthy-body-building basics. Chock full of silliness, The Monster Health Book was praised by School Library Journal reviewer Lee Bock as a “lively” and “visually appealing” picture book that “belongs in children’s hands” due to its valuable subject matter.
Miller also imparts a wealth of useful information in The Tooth Book, showing children that even clever crocodiles dutifully clean their teeth. Rather than employing the crocodile method, which involves letting small birds peck at their teeth, human children floss, brush, and visit the dentist. In addition to outlining proper tooth care, he explains how teeth are constructed, why children lose their baby teeth, and what happens when teeth are abused and mistreated through bad hygiene and habitual grazing on sugary snacks. Booklist reviewer Carolyn Phelan remarked on the volume’s “considerable visual zip” and predicted that the “amusing details” in Miller’s artwork for The Tooth Book “will appeal to many children.” The work serves as an “entertaining introduction to a potentially dry subject,” wrote School Library Journal contributor Barbara Katz, and a Kirkus Reviews writer recommended Miller’s humorous hygiene guide as “a mix of fact and humor that will capture kids’ attention and spark learning.”
Another of Miller’s self-illustrated works, Recycling Day, is a fun guide for youngsters interested in helping the planet. In the book, an ant family, a grasshopper, and several other insects live peacefully in an empty lot until it is littered with trash and overrun by rodents. When a recycling day is organized and neighbors join together, the lot is transformed into a community garden and reusable plastics, glass, metal, and paper are recycled. “Miller’s cheerful cartoon illustrations reinforce the text’s positive and encouraging tone,” wrote Kathy Piehl in School Library Journal. Noting that “text boxes with lots of fascinating facts and concrete statistics are sure to make readers think twice about trashing recyclables,” a Kirkus Reviews writer predicted that Recycling Day is “sure to inspire a new generation of recyclers.”
As an illustrator, Miller has contributed to several books by Adler that inspire youngsters to enjoy the learning process. Appraising You Can, Toucan, Math: Word Problem-Solving Fun, a Kirkus Reviews contributor wrote that the colorful “illustrations keep the details simple.” His images for Adler’s Fun with Roman Numerals, another math-related picture book, were given special mention by a second Kirkus Reviews writer because they “add humor and interest” to the comprehensive text, while Erlene Bishop Killeen remarked in School Library Journal that the artist effectively incorporates “icons and images from ancient Rome” into modernistic images that will appeal to children due to their “boldly colored graphics and simple lines.”
Other math-based books featuring the combined talents of Adler and Miller include Money Madness, Mystery Math: A First Book of Algebra, Millions, Billions, and Trillions: Understanding Big Numbers, and Triangles. In works like these, colorful artwork enhances textual explorations of basic mathematical concepts. In Mystery Math, for instance, “Miller’s trademark wit and collage-like digital illustrations guide readers with visual references to the problem,” as Lisa Egly Lehmuller observed in School Library Journal. Writing in the same magazine, Joan Kindig wrote of Millions, Billions, and Trillions that its “clean, clear digital graphics are lively and colorful, adding an extra bit of fun to the presentation.” Because math books for young readers sometimes “fudge” geometric shapes, Phelan wrote in her Booklist review of Triangles that “it’s a pleasure to find one in which the straight lines are actually straight, and the geometric figures are exact and helpfully labeled.”
Apart from his work for children’s books, Miller designs and produces teaching tools for use in the classroom. As he related on his website, “My interest in designing teaching tools goes back to when I was in elementary school. I remember certain teaching tools that [piqued] my interest in learning, such as a map for the USA. It was the fun artwork that grabbed my attention and consequently my interest in learning the states. I want to offer that higher standard of art to engage and inspire learning.”
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Miller and Adler team up again with Money Math: Addition and Subtraction, that uses U.S. currency to add, subtract, place decimal points, and learn the value of items in a gift shop based on dollar amount. This primer on money explains that 100 pennies equals one dollar and the many ways you can make 50 cents out of coins. Words, images, and caricatures blend as “Both Adler and Miller use a winning clarity of expression… to maximize the operations involved in toting up coins and keep readers visually stimulated,” according to a Kirkus Reviews writer. As Kristen Todd-Wurm observed in School Library Journal, the book is a fun way to learn addition, subtraction, and currency and “speech bubbles from the characters provide extra guidance and a source of humor.”
Knowing that math and geometry can be intimidating to young students, Adler and Miller published the picture book Squares, Rectangles, and Other Quadrilaterals, using math to understand and form shapes. “Miller’s bright, digitally drawn shapes appear alongside colorful cats and dogs” who encourage readers to make their own shapes, said Hilary Tufo in School Library Journal. Telling Time from Adler and Miller features four young astronauts, an alien, and some robots who explain seconds, minutes, and hours, and how to read digital and analog clocks. “The digitally drawn pastel illustrations keep the mood light” considering the seriousness of the material, noted Lynn Van Auken in School Library Journal. In The Metric System, Adler and Miller introduce readers to centimeters, kilograms, liters, and kilometers. Since the metric system is used in nearly every country except the United States, kids who want to interact with their environment, measure, and build things will want to learn the metric system. The book includes a metric ruler.
Miller and writer Joan Sweeny published Me and My Amazing Body to help children understand anatomy. Miller’s new art for the book showcases skin, bones, muscles, digestion, eyes, and toes, explaining how the important parts of the body work and function. Twisting the classic “There was an old lady who swallowed a fly,” Miller wrote and illustrated I Know an Old Lady with hilarious die-cut elements that grow and build upon all the crazy things the old lady eats that fill her stomach, from a little fly to a big horse. In this updated version, Miller makes sure to add a kid-friendly ending.
For the Halloween holiday, How to Haunt a House, written by Carolyn Crimi, offers laughs when three ghosts—Groana, Moana, and Shrieky—are assigned by their teacher to haunt a house owned by Frankenstein-type monsters. Getting creative, the ghosts scare the monsters with everyday items that children love: bunnies, puppies, glitter, and cupcakes. With a clever use of color palette, “Miller’s illustrations are age appropriate and appealing—nothing’s too spooky here—with a comic-book feel,” noted a contributor to Kirkus Reviews. Describing the artwork, School Library Journal reviewer Mary Lanni observed: “All of the characters have a cartoonlike quality, increasing the accessibility of the story while limiting any truly frightening moments.” Readers get to meet friendly Halloween characters in Who’s Inside the Haunted House? by Courtney Acampora, who provides a sweet rhyming story to accompany Miller’s bright cheerful illustrations and add fun with fright.
Collaborating with writer Frederick Glasser, Miller illustrated the board book Is It Christmas Yet? with flaps that show various people preparing for the holiday, from carolers, to Santa’s elves, to reindeer in the stables, that all ends in a big feast. Miller’s interactive board book Jolly Santa’s Guessing Game lets children guess what items Santa is thinking of based on clues in the text and illustrations on each spread. The choices to pick from range from silly to reasonable, but only one is correct. The Spooky Witch’s Guessing Game uses a Halloween-themed interactive board for children to guess silly items the witch is thinking of.
Miller’s Busy Street introduces young readers to twenty-two vocational vehicles on a busy street where various animals live and travel around their neighborhood. Rhyming quatrains use simple vocabulary and sentences to showcase a fire engine, school bus, tractor trailer, bulldozer, mail truck, garbage truck, and more. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews remarked: “Although the art is busy, observant viewers may find humor in details such as a fragile item falling out of a moving truck.”
In Miller’s Franny’s Fix-It Shop, a girl uses basic engineering techniques to fix anything that breaks down. It’s easy when you separate things into their parts, such as a bicycle that contains gears, levers, screws, a pulley, and wheels. Miller’s signature kid-friendly artwork and text explain how everyday items work.
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BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, July, 2002, Carolyn Phelan, review of The Sun: Our Nearest Star, p. 1851; March 15, 2004, Hazel Rochman, review of A House for Birdie, p. 1307; May 15, 2004, Gillian Engberg, review of Boats on the River, p. 1622; August, 2004, Carolyn Phelan, review of A Drop of Blood, p. 1939; May 15, 2006, Gillian Engberg, review of The Monster Heath Book: A Guide to Eating Healthy, Being Active, and Feeling Great for Monsters and Kids!, p. 48; November 15, 2007, Carolyn Phelan, review of Working with Fractions, p. 45; February 15, 2008, Carolyn Phelan, review of The Tooth Book: A Guide to Healthy Teeth and Gums, p. 84; January 1, 2009, Carolyn Phelan, review of Money Madness, p. 88; March 1, 2013, Carolyn Phelan, review of Millions, Billions, and Trillions: Understanding Big Numbers, p. 54; March 15, 2014, Carolyn Phelan, review of Triangles, p. 70; December 15, 2015, Erin Linsenmeyer, review of Place Value, p. 43.
Horn Book, May-June, 2009, Tanya D. Auger, review of Money Madness, p. 317.
Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2002, review of From Head to Toe: The Amazing Human Body and How It Works, p. 1236; May 15, 2006, review of Captain Barnacle’s Aquarium, p. 521; August 1, 2006, review of You Can, Toucan, Math: Word Problem-Solving Fun, p. 779; August 15, 2007, review of Working with Fractions; February 15, 2008, review of The Tooth Book; September 1, 2008, review of Fun with Roman Numerals; January 1, 2009, review of Money Madness; September 15, 2014, review of Recycling Day; May 15, 2017, review of Money Math: Addition and Subtraction; August 1, 2021, review of How to Haunt a House; December 1, 2021, review of Busy Street.
Natural History, December, 2014, Dolly Setton, review of Triangles, p. 44.
Publishers Weekly, September 27, 2004, review of Elf Elementary, p. 62.
School Library Journal, July, 2002, John Peters, review of The Sun, p. 104; November, 2002, Dona Ratterree, review of From Head to Toe, p. 148; September, 2003, Judith Constantinides, review of Alphabeep: A Zipping, Zooming ABC, p. 204; May 15, 2004, Gillian Engberg, review of Boats on the River, p. 1622; October, 2004, Erlene Bishop Kileen, review of A House for Birdie, p. 146; June, 2006, Lee Bock, review of The Monster Heath Book, p. 138; August, 2006, Debbie Stewart Hoskins, review of Captain Barnacle’s Aquarium, p. 93; October, 2007, Ann Joslin, review of Working with Fractions, p. 131; February, 2008, Barbara Katz, review of The Tooth Book, p. 107; November, 2008, Erlene Bishop Killeen, review of Fun with Roman Numerals, p. 104; May, 2009, Grace Oliff, review of Money Madness, p. 92; September, 2011, Lisa Egly Lehmuller, review of Mystery Math: A First Book of Algebra, p. 179; April, 2012, Maren Ostergard, review of Perimeter, Area, and Volume: A Monster Book of Dimensions, p. 148; May, 2013, Joan Kindig, review of Millions, Billions, and Trillions, p. 89; May, 2014, Jasmine L. Precopio, review of Triangles, p. 146; September, 2014, Kathy Piehl, review of Recycling Day, p. 110; February, 2016, Meaghan Darling, review of Place Value, p. 111; August 2017, Kristen Todd-Wurm, review of Money Math, p. 114; October 2018, Hilary Tufo, review of Squares, Rectangles, and Other Quadrilaterals, p. 84; December 2019, Lynn Van Auken, review of Telling Time, p. 95; September 2021, Mary Lanni, review of How to Haunt a House, p. 65.
ONLINE
Edward Miller website, http://www.edwardelementary.com/ (September 29, 2016).*
Edward Miller has written and illustrated many books for children, including The Monster Health Book: A Guide to Eating Healthy, Being Active & Feeling Great for Monsters & Kids! He is the creator of many Sticker Stories, including A to Z Aliens, Rockets, and Speed Machines. Miller lives in New York City.
CRIMI, Carolyn. How to Haunt a House. illus. by Edward Miller. 32p. Albert Whitman. Sept. 2021. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780807534267.
K-Gr 2--Halloween is fast approaching, and three young ghosts have one more test to pass before they will be declared ready for the day. Madam Gray assigns three houses for the ghosts to haunt, each one more challenging than the last. Using a series of skills perfected in class, Groana, Moana (not to be confused with the Disney character), and Shrieky work together to achieve their goal. When their practiced tactics fail to work on tire final house, however, the three classmates must examine the problem from another angle to succeed. This rhyming Halloween story is at once enjoyable and educational, showcasing the power of teamwork and tenacity against the backdrop of a playful haunting. Rhyming couplets give the narrative a singsong beat. Though the lines are not consistent in meter, the story is easy to follow; the varied pacing breaks up the narrative into distinct segments while keeping readers engaged. Digitally rendered illustrations feature iconic Halloween decor, from purple, black, and orange hues to a full moon casting a glow over crooked, leafless tree branches. All of the characters have a cartoonlike quality, increasing the accessibility of the story while limiting any truly frightening moments. Detailed images will encourage readers to closely examine tire illustrations. VERDICT Add this to Halloween collections, and use in group and individual settings.--Mary Lanni, formerly at Denver P.L.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Lanni, Mary. "CRIMI, Carolyn. How to Haunt a House." School Library Journal, vol. 67, no. 9, Sept. 2021, pp. 65+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A673471187/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=41e18727. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022.
Adler, David A. PRICES! PRICES! PRICES! Holiday House (Children's Picture Books) $17.95 5, 1 ISBN: 978-0-8234-3293-6
You can spell math with an "a" as in angst, aghast or agog, or you can spell it with an "A" as in Adler. Your move.Adler has been squashing math anxiety for many a season. Here he takes on some elementary economics, and everyone knows economics is where fun goes to die. While this may not be one of Adler's merriest offerings, he has the very good sense to explain the basic laws of supply and demand with a lemonade stand as the vehicle. And everyone knows there are about as many people out there who don't like lemonade on a hot day as there are people who thrill to credit-default swaps and Gaussian copula formulas. As Adler doles out the cups of lemonade, prices fluctuate according to supply and demand. He introduces the concepts of fixed and variable costs, revenue and variable profit. He poses the fundamentals in such a way--and Miller in colors as enticing as snow cones--that many young readers prompted to explore them further may wonder why the price of diamonds is so high when the supply runneth over (at least for now). In Adler's capable hands, there is life in economics yet. Adler always finds a canny way into the math game, both practical and enjoyable. (Math picture book. 6-10)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Adler, David A.: PRICES! PRICES! PRICES!" Kirkus Reviews, 1 Feb. 2015. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A399322007/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f8fb46b4. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022.
Adler, David A. PLACE VALUE Holiday House (Children's Picture Books) $17.95 2, 15 ISBN: 978-0-8234-3550-0
Adler tackles yet another difficult math concept using simple language and an excellent comparison. Just as "A is both a word and a letter," "1 is both a number and a digit." Both letters and digits have to be carefully placed in order to express what the writer wants: "cafe" and "face" use the same letters but are most certainly not the same word, and 216 and 621 are different numbers that use the same digits. Using place-value charts throughout (repeated on the front and back endpapers) that highlight in red the individual digits Adler is focusing on, the digital illustrations depict a bunch of smiling monkeys as they follow a recipe to bake a Colossal Banana Cupcake--colossal so as to use the big numbers Adler is describing. On two facing pages, Miller shows towers of eggs--216 white ones and 621 brown ones--divided into hundreds, tens, and ones. Though the hundreds stack of white eggs is 20 tall and the brown one, 25 tall, still readers get the idea that 600 is much greater than 200. When introducing numbers containing decimals, Adler turns to money and gives a good explanation of our number system's history. Throughout, Adler teaches not only the place value, but also how the numbers should be read--there is no "and" in 6,324, but there is one in 632.4. When paired with adult guidance, a "valuable" look at place value. (Math picture book. 5-8)
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"Adler, David A.: PLACE VALUE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2015. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A435818854/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=37615a6d. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022.
Adler, David A. LET'S ESTIMATE Holiday House (Children's Picture Books) $17.95 3, 15 ISBN: 978-0-8234-3668-2
Estimating and rounding: two great, everyday mathematical tools. We round and estimate all the time; they're right up there with adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. Adler brings a no-nonsense approach to the subjects, sometimes a little too much so, letting the narrative go flat at the expense of tinder-dry precision. "For most purposes, that's a perfectly acceptable answer. But it's not an exact answer." Even the inclusion of the contractions doesn't lighten those sentences. And there is also a measure of disconnect between Miller's artwork, with its Candyland playfulness and large population of dinosaurs, and the audience, some of who will be nigh approaching junior high school. On the other hand, he has a good gender and racial mix among the humans, who participate via speech bubbles. Adler's text overcomes its occasional drab presentation by stressing the utter usefulness and pleasure of rounding and estimating. They allow us to have a sense whether or not we are in the ballpark numberwise, and they can be just plain fun in gaining an idea of how numbers relate to the real world, both for amusement and to grasp time and space: estimate the steps to a friend's house and how long that will take. There are a few arid patches and some illustration-audience mismatch, but the value--and enjoyment--of rounding and estimating courses through it. (Picture book. 6-10)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Adler, David A.: LET'S ESTIMATE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2017. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A477242367/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a7242e7c. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022.
Adler, David A. MONEY MATH Holiday House (Children's Informational) $17.95 8, 15 ISBN: 978-0-8234-3698-9
Adler and Miller (Let's Estimate, 2017, etc.) team again to poke playfully about in the world of numbers, this time using U.S. currency to add, subtract, determine value, and place decimal points.Both Adler and Miller use a winning clarity of expression--one with words, the other with images and caricatures--to maximize the operations involved in toting up coins and keep readers visually stimulated. "The number to the left of the decimal point represents the dollars. The number to the right represents the cents." But decimalization is not belabored, entering the story quite subliminally, for it is more important for readers to know that 100 pennies equals a dollar and that there are various permutations of coins to add up to any number between one and 100 cents; indeed, the book begins to resemble an abacus of coins equaling a particular value. ("There are 50 different ways to make 50cents." Answers in the back.) Gradually they introduce the idea that coins operate in reverse as well: you can add them to find their worth, and you can subtract them to learn about change. The conclusion may have caregivers howling: "Doing money math is fun. Math should be fun. Some people think that going shopping and spending coins and bills is fun." Next up from Adler and Miller: Debt Management for Six Year Olds? A purse full of entertainment tucked into a merry primer on money math. (Picture book. 4-8)
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"Adler, David A.: MONEY MATH." Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2017. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A491934301/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b8e60d06. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022.
Crimi, Carolyn HOW TO HAUNT A HOUSE Whitman (Children's None) $16.99 9, 1 ISBN: 978-0-8075-3426-7
Three ghosts-in-training meet a family that proves difficult to scare.
Groana, Moana, and Shrieky have successfully used their ghostly tricks to haunt families in two different houses. But when their teacher, Madam Grey, assigns them a family of monsters to haunt, they must get creative with their tactics. Readers will giggle to see what ultimately frightens these Frankenstein-type monsters: bunnies, puppies, glitter, and cupcakes. Crimi’s rhyming story nicely leverages unpredictability to keep preschoolers engaged. How silly that the things they love should terrify a monster! Miller’s illustrations are age appropriate and appealing—nothing’s too spooky here—with a comic-book feel. The three ghosties are nonthreatening, with rosy cheeks and expressive eyebrows. The humans depicted are racially diverse, including one interracial family. There are also some fun details, like the monster family’s table full of rotten fish and moldy cheese. Miller cleverly uses the color palette so that the hues of the human families’ homes, with touches of pink and light blue, are the same as those of the cheerful items used to scare the monster family. Sure to be enjoyed by the preschool crowd—a great Halloween read-aloud for a classroom or library.
Not-too-spooky Halloween fun. (Picture book. 4-6)
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"Crimi, Carolyn: HOW TO HAUNT A HOUSE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A669986514/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=34c097fa. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022.
Miller, Edward BUSY STREET Random House (Children's None) $9.99 1, 4 ISBN: 978-0-593-37725-3
Mommy and Bonnie--two anthropomorphic rodents--go for a joyride and notice a variety of conveyances around their busy town.
The pair encounter 22 types of vocational vehicles as they pass various sites, including a fire engine leaving a firehouse, a school bus approaching a school, and a tractor trailer delivering goods to a supermarket. Narrated in rhyming quatrains, the book describes the jobs that each wheeled machine does. The text uses simple vocabulary and sentences, with sight words aplenty. Some of the rhymes don't scan as well as others, and the description of the mail truck's role ("A mail truck brings / letters and cards / to mailboxes / in people's yards) ignores millions of readers living in yardless dwellings. The colorful digitally illustrated spreads are crowded with animal characters of every type hustling and bustling about. Although the art is busy, observant viewers may find humor in details such as a fragile item falling out of a moving truck, a line of ducks holding up traffic, and a squirrel's spilled ice cream. For younger children enthralled by vehicles, Sally Sutton's Roadwork (2011) and Elizabeth Verdick's Small Walt series provide superior text and art and kinder humor. Children who have little interest in cars, trucks, and construction equipment may find this offering a yawner. Despite being advertised as a beginner book, neither text nor art recommend this as an engaging choice for children starting to read independently. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Smoother rides are out there. (Picture book. 3-5)
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"Miller, Edward: BUSY STREET." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A684108319/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a571ecad. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022.
ADLER, David A. Prices! Prices! Prices!: Why They Go Up and Down. illus. by Edward Miller. 32p. glossary. Holiday House. 2015. RTE $17.99.'ISBN 9780823432936. LC 2014017265.
Gr 2-5--Presented in a clear and straightforward manner, this title explains the most basic economic concepts. Using the classic example of opening and operating a lemonade stand as a jumping-off point, Adler engages readers in a five-day scenario depicting the four basic laws of supply and demand. For instance, the purchase of serving and presentation materials (a fixed cost) and ingredients (a variable cost) demonstrates how to determine the variable cost per drink and set a price per cup. Adler uses other scenarios to indicate how changes in supply and demand influence cost, such as when a neighbor opens a competing lemonade stand. Miller's cheery, cartoonlike images add to the upbeat, conversational tone. Text boxes discuss key points, such as the four supply and demand laws and how to calculate each day's variable profit. However, readers will not find the frequently used diagram of supply and demand curves intersecting to determine the equilibrium price, nor will they find back matter explaining concepts above and beyond the text or directing them to additional sources. Unfortunately, not all the words highlighted in the text are defined in the glossary--and not all the glossary terms are highlighted in the text. VERDICT A serviceable introductory economics text for elementary school students.--Meaghan Darling, Long Hill Township Public Library, Gillette, NJ
Darling, Meaghan
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Darling, Meaghan. "Adler, David A.: Prices! Prices! Prices!: Why They Go Up and Down." School Library Journal, vol. 61, no. 3, Mar. 2015, p. 168. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A404035569/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=02dee1aa. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022.
ADLER, David A. Place Value. illus. by Edward Miller. 32p. Holiday House. Apr. 2016. Tr $17.95. ISBN 9780823435500.
Gr 1-3--Introducing readers to the concept of place value, this text follows the monkeys of the Banana Cafe at 306 Monkey Lane as they bake a Colossal Banana Cupcake. Adler begins by establishing a connection between numbers and letters: similar to the alphabet, our numerical system is made up of a specific set of pieces (digits) that are used to make numbers. However, some letters, such as A, can stand by themselves as both a letter and word, and the same goes for numbers. As the monkeys begin to gather and combine the ingredients for the cupcake, Adler explains that the value of a digit is determined by its place in a number. Readers are introduced to the ones, tens, and hundreds positions; subsequent pages focus on higher values. Adler uses a money chart to clarify the use of the decimal point. Many key terms are in bold throughout, but the book lacks a glossary and additional resources. Miller's vibrant digitally created illustrations add humor, and the endpapers depict a brightly colored, eye-catching chart. VERDICT This fun and simple explanation of place value provides a strong introduction for young readers.--Meaghan Darling, Long Hill Township Public Library, Gillette, NJ
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Darling, Meaghan. "Adler, David A.: Place Value." School Library Journal, vol. 62, no. 2, Feb. 2016, p. 111. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A442780687/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1906acc7. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022.
ADLER, David A. Circles. illus. by Edward Miller. 32p. glossary. Holiday House. Jul. 2016. Tr $17.95. ISBN 9780823436422; ebk. $17.95. ISBN 9780823437122.
Gr 2-4--In this companion volume to his equally attractive and useful Triangles, Adler addresses the geometric world of circles. Starting with an introduction to the realm of noncircles (spheres, cylinders, cones, etc.), he then launches into circular spaces--complete with centers, points, diameters, radii, chords, and other potentially unfamiliar terminologies. Simple, logical activities are presented to drive concepts home, including popping into the world of pi and challenging young geometers to find the areas of a gaggle of bright circles. Miller's bright illustrations provide an excellent guide for the experimental activities. A glossary is appended, as are solutions to the challenges in the text. Math teachers and homeschooling parents will be delighted with this clear, concise overview of a familiar shape with unexpected details. VERDICT Extremely useful for the classroom at home or in school, and very approachable in its colorful minimalism.--Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
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Manning, Patricia. "Adler, David A.: Circles." School Library Journal, vol. 62, no. 8, Aug. 2016, p. 69. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A459888254/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=312c0ce8. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022.
ADLER, David A. Let's Estimate: A Book About Estimating and Rounding Numbers, illus. by Edward Miller. 32p. Holiday House. Jan. 2017. Tr $17.95. ISBN 9780823436682.
Gr 3-5-Adler and Miller (Circles; Place Value) team up again to introduce the concepts of estimating and rounding to young readers using relatable, practical examples and appealing illustrations. Estimations as "approximate answers" are first defined as acceptable responses to questions whose exact answer is continually changing, such as the population of the United States. Rounding is then presented as a tool that can make estimations, such as the cost of groceries or the product of two double-digit numbers, easier. The artwork reinforces the conceptual examples found in the text and features three unnamed children and five anthropomorphic dinosaurs drawn in a pleasing cartoon style. Important terms are shown in bold but are defined only within the text; there is no glossary or other back matter. Although the concepts are conveyed clearly, the subject matter, density of the text, and smaller font size make this selection much more likely to be helpful to students when shared with a caregiver or educator in a one-on-one or small group setting than when read independently. VERDICT Highly recommended for classroom and school libraries and for public libraries where Adler and Miller's previous titles are in use.-Kacy Helwick, New Orleans Public Library
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Helwick, Kacy. "Adler, David A. Let's Estimate: A Book About Estimating and Rounding Numbers." School Library Journal, vol. 63, no. 2, Feb. 2017, p. 113. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A479405665/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=23341eb9. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022.
ADLER, David A. Money Math: Addition and Subtraction, illus. by Edward Miller. 32p. Holiday House. Aug. 2017. Tr $17.95. ISBN 9780823436989.
Gr 1-3--George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and many other important historical figures star in this introduction to U.S. currency and basic arithmetic. The book opens on a band of fictional kids perusing items in a gift shop, but readers are told before any purchases can be made, the value of money must first be understood. The narrative then segues into a breakdown of the differences among the various bills and coins with commentary provided by cartoon renditions of Franklin D. Roosevelt ("My portrait is on the dime."), John F. Kennedy ("I encouraged America to travel to the moon."), and so on. Students are then tasked with using this knowledge to practice adding and subtracting. The sample problems increase in difficulty as the book progresses--speech bubbles from the characters provide extra guidance and a source of humor. VERDICT Recommended for general purchase for nonfiction collections; this title is a fun way to introduce addition, subtraction, and currency.--Kristen Todd-Wurm, Middle Country Public Library, NY
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Todd-Wurm, Kristen. "Adler, David A.: Money Math: Addition and Subtraction." School Library Journal, vol. 63, no. 8, Aug. 2017, p. 114. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A499597952/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=33eef3b8. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022.
ADLER, David A. Squares, Rectangles, and Other Quadrilaterals, illus. by Edward Miller. 32p. glossary. Holiday House. Dec. 2018. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780823437597.
Gr 3-5-Adler and Miller have created another math-themed picture book to help young minds further understand polygons. What could be seen as an intimidating subject for students, young and old, becomes less so through the use of an inviting format and cute cartoon animals. Miller's bright, digitally drawn shapes appear alongside colorful cats and dogs. Each quadrilateral is described in great detail, identifying the number of sides, types of angles, and the degrees. Throughout the text, key words are highlighted by their varying size and color for readers to notice. The book provides ample opportunities for readers to make their own shapes with activities included within the narrative (using an empty cereal box to make a parallelogram, for example). The work concludes with a brief identification quiz and a short glossary. Although the topic may be difficult for little readers, Adler offers kids insight to the complexity of polygons. VERDICT An unintimidating look at math and shapes, and a fine addition to nonfiction collections.--Hilary Tufo, Columbus Metropolitan Library-Reynoldsburg
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Tufo, Hilary. "ADLER, David A.: Squares, Rectangles, and Other Quadrilaterals." School Library Journal, vol. 64, no. 10, Oct. 2018, p. 84. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A556838478/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6a54162e. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022.
ADLER, David A. Telling Time, illus. by Edward Miller. 32p. Holiday House. Dec. 2019. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780823440924.
Gr 1-5--Adler and Miller's latest addition to their renowned collection of math books is a space-themed exploration of the classifications of time. Four young astronauts (two boys, two girls) plus one green alien and a couple of robots take readers on a detailed examination of the particulars of time. Using second-person narrative, the astronauts and their sidekicks explain the difference between seconds, minutes, and hours; the characteristics of analog and digital clocks and how to read them; the passage of time; and the difference between A.M. and P.M. Speech bubbles on every page add to the expository text with sometimes essential and other times incidental commentary. The digitally drawn pastel illustrations keep the mood light but don't detract from the serious business at hand. A glossary and author's note that offers further information conclude the book. VERDICT Those looking for an elementary but thorough discussion of time will find it here.--Lynn Van Auken, Oak Bluffs School, MA
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Van Auken, Lynn. "ADLER, David A.: Telling Time." School Library Journal, vol. 65, no. 11, Dec. 2019, pp. 95+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A607579835/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=266e5a5b. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022.
HOURAN, Lori Haskins. Are You My Planet? illus. by Edward Miller. 32p. Cottage Door. Mar. 2021. Tr $9.99. ISBN 9781680529555.
PreS-Gr 1-Beep the alien and his robot dog are lost in the solar system and trying to find their way home to their small red planet. As Beep navigates his spaceship near each planet and asks, "Are you my planet?" he points out one way each differs from his own. For instance, to Uranus he says, "You are DEFINITELY not my planet. You're sideways! How nifty!" One short sentence is included on each page to provide more information about Beep's observations, such as that Saturn's rings are made of ice, dust, and rock. Young and emerging readers can predict the pattern created by the repetitive text and can trace the dotted line that maps out the spaceship's trajectory as it travels around each page. Illustrations are vibrant and engaging. Planets are not presented in order and the one-page spread illustrating the solar system is not to scale and difficult to discern the correct orbital order around the sun. Earth's moon appears on the same orbit line as Mars and both Saturn and Jupiter are on three different orbit pathways. VERDICT An optional purchase for libraries in need of introductory nonfiction materials for young readers.--Meaghan Darling, Sparta P.L., NJ
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Darling, Meaghan. "HOURAN, Lori Haskins. Are You My Planet?" School Library Journal, vol. 67, no. 6, June 2021, pp. 73+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A663599705/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d7713a84. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022.