SUPER ZERO
Author: Lori Haskins Houran
Illustrator: Deborah Melmon
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Number of pages: 27
Publisher: Kane Press (USA) First published in: 2022 Format: Picturebook Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? Yes Is this story part of a mathematics story series? Yes (Mouse Math) Preview and/or purchase this book on the Amazon websites: UK, USA, AUS, IND, CAN Synopsis by the author/publisher
Albert has high hopes for the new squeakball season. He wants to score lots of goals! Then he gets his uniform number--a big, round zero. He runs and passes and makes lots of assists, but goals? Zero. His sister says zero is a secret super hero. Albert is sure it's cursed! Every Mouse Math title includes back matter activities that support and extend reading comprehension and math skills, plus free online activities. |
“"You guys are thinking about this all wrong," Wanda said. "Zero is awesome. It's a secret superhero. I'll show you." [...] "Here's what one hundred looks like." Wanda painted 100. "Hey, it's got two zeros!" Leo said. ”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Lori Haskins Houran’s ‘Super Zero’ (2022), one of the latest titles in Kane Press’s Mouse Math series, is one of the very few mathematical stories in the market right now that explicitly focuses on the concept of zero for young readers. The story follows a young mouse named Albert who gets given a uniform number ‘0’ to wear for his squeakball matches. While Albert is very good at passing the ball to his teammates to score lots of goals, he himself has not scored any goal yet. Disappointed, he thinks the number ‘0’ is cursed. His sister, Wanda, shows him that the number ‘0’ when it is part of number teams (like 100, 1,000 or even 1,000,000) can help make these number teams stronger and bigger, so zero is really a secret superhero or Super Zero. Given how abstract the concept of zero is, it is not normally introduced to children until they are a bit older. However, this story does a fantastic job in introducing zero to very young children in a way that is meaningful and engaging to them. As an extra observation, the publisher/author also does well in including female characters as part of the squeakball team as well. Like the other titles in the series, this book also comes with follow-up activities that teachers and parents can do with their children once they have read the story, for example, children could be asked to think and write down numbers up to 100 that have zero in them, and for the children to try to order them from least to greatest. All in all, we highly recommend ‘Super Zero’ to introduce the concept of zero to children, aged 5+ years old.
Recommended age range:
5+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
Zero
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.
Lori Haskins Houran’s ‘Super Zero’ (2022), one of the latest titles in Kane Press’s Mouse Math series, is one of the very few mathematical stories in the market right now that explicitly focuses on the concept of zero for young readers. The story follows a young mouse named Albert who gets given a uniform number ‘0’ to wear for his squeakball matches. While Albert is very good at passing the ball to his teammates to score lots of goals, he himself has not scored any goal yet. Disappointed, he thinks the number ‘0’ is cursed. His sister, Wanda, shows him that the number ‘0’ when it is part of number teams (like 100, 1,000 or even 1,000,000) can help make these number teams stronger and bigger, so zero is really a secret superhero or Super Zero. Given how abstract the concept of zero is, it is not normally introduced to children until they are a bit older. However, this story does a fantastic job in introducing zero to very young children in a way that is meaningful and engaging to them. As an extra observation, the publisher/author also does well in including female characters as part of the squeakball team as well. Like the other titles in the series, this book also comes with follow-up activities that teachers and parents can do with their children once they have read the story, for example, children could be asked to think and write down numbers up to 100 that have zero in them, and for the children to try to order them from least to greatest. All in all, we highly recommend ‘Super Zero’ to introduce the concept of zero to children, aged 5+ years old.
Recommended age range:
5+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
Zero
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.
