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If...: A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers
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If...: A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers Hardback - 2014

by David J. Smith; Steve Adams (Illustrator)

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If the Solar System's planets were shrunk down to the size of sports balls, and Earth were the size of a baseball, what size would the other planets be? This question and others are explored in this innovative and visually appealing book about very big concepts made accessible when scaled down to kid-friendly size. Full color.

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From the publisher

"Some things are so huge or so old that it's hard to wrap your mind around them. But what if we took these big, hard-to-imagine objects and events and compared them to things we can see, feel and touch? Instantly, we'd see our world in a whole new way." So begins this endlessly intriguing guide to better understanding all those really big ideas and numbers children come across on a regular basis. Author David J. Smith has found clever devices to scale down everything from time lines (the history of Earth compressed into one year), to quantities (all the wealth in the world divided into one hundred coins), to size differences (the planets shown as different types of balls). Accompanying each description is a kid-friendly drawing by illustrator Steve Adams that visually reinforces the concept. By simply reducing everything to human scale, Smith has made the incomprehensible easier to grasp, and therefore more meaningful. The children who just love these kinds of fact-filled, knock-your-socks-off books will want to read this one from cover to cover. It will find the most use, however, as an excellent classroom reference that can be reached for again and again when studying scale and measurement in math, and also for any number of applications in social studies, science and language arts. For those who want to delve a little deeper, Smith has included six suggestions for classroom projects. There is also a full page of resource information at the back of the book.

Details

  • Title If...: A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers
  • Author David J. Smith; Steve Adams (Illustrator)
  • Binding Hardback
  • Pages 40
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Kids Can Press
  • Publication date 2014-08-01
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Dust Cover, Illustrated, Maps, Price on Product - Canadian
  • ISBN 9781894786348 / 1894786343
  • Weight 1 lbs (0.45 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.6 x 9.75 x 0.4 in (24.38 x 24.77 x 1.02 cm)
  • Age range 08 to 12 years
  • Grade levels 3 - 7
  • Reading level 1170
  • Category Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Science
  • Library of Congress subjects Astronomy, Natural resources
  • Dewey Decimal Code 500

Media reviews

Citations

  • Booklist, 10/15/2014, Page 39
  • Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks, 09/01/2014, Page 66
  • Hornbook Guide to Children, 01/01/2015, Page 0
  • Kirkus Reviews, 06/15/2014, Page 0
  • Quill & Quire, 07/01/2014, Page 45
  • Quill & Quire Books of the Yr, 12/01/2014, Page 21
  • School Library Journal, 08/01/2014, Page 113

About the author

David J. Smith is a teacher and educational consultant with over 25 years of experience in the classroom and is the creator of the award-winning curriculum "Mapping the World by Heart."

Steve Adams has collaborated with a wide range of publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune and the Globe and Mail. He has also illustrated eight children's books. He lives in Montreal, Quebec.

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If: A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers
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If: A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers

by Smith, David J.

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If : A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers

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If : A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers
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If : A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers

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If : A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers
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If : A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers

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