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EXPLORE OTHER 'ADDITION & SUBTRACTION' STORIES HERE
EXPLORE OTHER 'COUNTING FORWARDS TO AND BACKWARDS FROM 100' STORIES HERE

100 SNOWMEN
Author: Jennifer Dussling Arena
​Illustrator: Stephen Gilpin

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Number of pages: 20
Publisher: Amazon's Two Lions (USA)​
First published in: 2013
Format: Picturebook

Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? Yes
Is this story part of a mathematics story series? No
​

Preview and/or purchase this book on the Amazon websites: UK, USA, AUS, CAN

Synopsis by the author/publisher
A growing number of snowmen engage in whimsical, playful antics while inviting young children to practice their counting skills up to 100.
“One lonely snowman has a carrot nose. Two other snowmen join him when it snows. 1 + 2 = 3. Three more snowmen count the stars at night. Four more snowmen have a snowball fight. 3 + 4 = 7.”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
In Jen Arena’s ‘100 Snowmen’ (2013), different numbers of snowmen engaging in different activities are shown on each page. Each combination of snowmen is accompanied by a number sentence. While we love the visual aspect of the book in that it clearly represents each addition sentence with the corresponding number of snowmen, we would have preferred there to be a more meaningful purpose for counting and adding snowmen, like what we find in ‘Count Off, Squeak Scouts!’. This is to help children appreciate the real world application of mathematical knowledge. Additionally, we would have loved for ‘100 Snowmen’ to have more of an actual storyline and characters to help engage children, and to avoid the ‘concept book’ feel. As this is a mathematical story, gender diversity is important. As the title suggests, the presence of any female characters in the story is currently absent. The inclusion of snowwomen, for example, could have been a simple way to make gender representation more diverse. All in all, ‘100 Snowmen’ could be useful for children aged 5+ years old to practise counting and adding up to 100 as well as writing number sentences. (Disclaimer: We received a complimentary inspection copy of this book from the publisher)

​Recommended age range: 
5 years old + 

Relevant topics: 
Addition & Subtraction; Counting forwards to and backwards from 100

​Possible teaching activities:
At MathsThroughStories.org, we believe that stories can be meaningfully incorporated in mathematics teaching in different ways. Thus, we are inviting you to share your experience of how you have used this story in your mathematics lesson with other members of the community. By sharing your experience with us, you will be added to our team of On-line Contributors here, where you can also find our submission guideline.
​

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ABOUT US

MathsThroughStories.org is a non-profit and research-based initiative, based at the University of Reading's Institute of Education (UK).

It sets out to help mathematics learners around the world develop their conceptual understanding in mathematics and to help them foster positive attitudes towards the subject through  the power of storytelling.

Contact Us

  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • RESEARCH TEAM
    • On-line Contributors
    • Research Dissemination
    • Research Impact
    • SHOUTOUTS
    • Teacher Training / CPD Services
    • MEDIA APPEARANCES
  • RESOURCES
    • RECOMMENDATIONS
    • BLOG
    • NEWSLETTER
    • BOOK REVIEWS >
      • BOOK REVIEWS
      • INSPECTION COPIES
    • LESSON IDEAS
    • VIDEOS
    • CREATE YOUR OWN MATHEMATICAL STORIES >
      • GUIDELINE FOR MATHEMATICAL STORY AUTHORS
      • INTERVIEWS WITH MATHEMATICAL STORY AUTHORS
    • 'HOW TO' BOOKS
    • RESEARCH ARTICLES
    • PRACTITIONER-ORIENTED ARTICLES
  • COMPETITIONS
    • 2022 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2021 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2020 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2019 YMSA WINNING AND SHORTLISTED ENTRIES
  • NEWS
  • CONTACT US
    • GET INVOLVED