ARCTIC FIVES ARRIVE
Author: Elinor J. Pinczes
Illustrator: Holly Berry
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Number of pages: 28
Publisher: Scholastic (USA) First published in: 1996 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, IND, CAN Synopsis by the author/publisher
As groups of Arctic animals gather on a hilltop to view the northern lights, this lively picture book demonstrates how to count by fives. |
“That's five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five: Five Arctic hares whose ears dip and dive; five fats walrus with tusks sharpened keen; five sly ermine all pop-eyed and lean; five polar bears on pigeon-toed paws; and five snowy owls with long, curvy claws.”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Elinor J. Pinczes's ‘Artic Fives Arrive’ (1996) is probably the lesser known story among all the titles in Elinor’s mathematical story collection. In brief, it is a story about six sets of five Arctic animals coming to see the Northern Lights. That’s pretty much it. When comparing ‘Artic Fives Arrive’ with the other four stories in the series (e.g. ‘One Hundred Hungry Ants’ and 'A Remainder of One’), it is arguably not as humorous or engaging, if at all. There isn’t much plot or story in it. The illustration style is somewhat dated and at times can be quite difficult for very young readers to spot, and hence count, all the animals on the pages. Moreover, in the context of mathematical stories, writing in rhymes can sometimes be distracting as the focus tend to shift from choosing the best age-appropriate words to clearly explain mathematical concepts or situations to simply just choosing words that rhyme. All in all, ‘Artic Fives Arrive’ can still be used to introduce the concept of skip counting, but might not be able to hold very young children’s attention for too long.
Recommended age range:
5 years old +
Relevant mathematics topics:
Skip counting
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.
Elinor J. Pinczes's ‘Artic Fives Arrive’ (1996) is probably the lesser known story among all the titles in Elinor’s mathematical story collection. In brief, it is a story about six sets of five Arctic animals coming to see the Northern Lights. That’s pretty much it. When comparing ‘Artic Fives Arrive’ with the other four stories in the series (e.g. ‘One Hundred Hungry Ants’ and 'A Remainder of One’), it is arguably not as humorous or engaging, if at all. There isn’t much plot or story in it. The illustration style is somewhat dated and at times can be quite difficult for very young readers to spot, and hence count, all the animals on the pages. Moreover, in the context of mathematical stories, writing in rhymes can sometimes be distracting as the focus tend to shift from choosing the best age-appropriate words to clearly explain mathematical concepts or situations to simply just choosing words that rhyme. All in all, ‘Artic Fives Arrive’ can still be used to introduce the concept of skip counting, but might not be able to hold very young children’s attention for too long.
Recommended age range:
5 years old +
Relevant mathematics topics:
Skip counting
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.
