100th Day Worries

Book review by Jennifer Gennari, Common Sense Media
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Common Sense says

age 6+

Suspenseful story makes math enjoyable.

Margery Cuyler Math 2000
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Kids say

age 6+

Based on 2 reviews

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What's the Story?

Peanuts, paper clips, and peppermints! Jessica wonders how her classmates found so many items and worries about what she will bring for the one hundredth day of school. She frets until finally, with her family's help, she collects enough objects. This suspenseful but sweet story subtly encourages children to treat math as a means to an enjoyable end.

Is It Any Good?

Bringing in 100 objects on the 100th day of school is a familiar assignment to many elementary school kids, and listeners will immediately relate to Jessica, a lovable worrywart. The tension mounts as readers worry along with Jessica about what to bring. Margery Cuyler skillfully weaves in the math by organizing the other kids' items in groups of 10, 20, and 25. Listeners will jump right in, pointing to and counting the paper clips and peanut bags and helping Jessica add because they want her to have enough objects.

The illustrations by Arthur Howard show a frazzled, wide-eyed Jessica. Well known for his drawings for the Mr. Putter and Tabby series, Howard has drawn the characters with a frenzy of lines that add to the sense of stress.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what they would bring to school for this assignment. You may even want to try gathering 100 items just for fun. If you do, does the final collection seem bigger or smaller than you expected it would be?

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