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How Many Mice Make An Elephant? And Other Big Questions about Size and Distance

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Book Synopsis

How Many Mice Make an Elephant? And Other Big Questions about Size and Distance introduces children to this tricky maths concept in a fun, relatable way.

Fantastically written by Tracey Turner, questions such as ‘How many high jumps to the moon?’ and ‘How many ice cubes make an iceberg?’ get children to think about just how high, how big and how far things are, as well as teaching them the maths to work it out! The logic behind each comparison is explained in clear, simple steps for children to follow along, helping them to reach the answer. Beautiful illustrations by Aaron Cushley couldn’t be further from a maths text book, making learning maths a truly fun experience.

This wonderfully illustrated take on maths-by-stealth includes an introduction by Kjartan Poskitt, author of the bestselling Murderous Maths series.

Our Review Panel says...

‘How Many Mice Make An Elephant? and other big questions about size and distance’ will be an invaluable addition to any KS1 or KS2 classroom wishing to engage the students with maths and its uses.

Each double-page spread asks a different attention-grabbing size comparison question, ranging from ‘How many swimming pools in the sea?’ to ‘How many high jumps to the Moon?’ and ‘How many footballs fill the World’s biggest stadium?’ The answers are then calculated step-by-step and explained. A calculator will be useful as each page also summarises the calculation required in a ‘To Work It Out’ box.

The illustrations are bright and enticing, and every page also features a range of other fun facts about the topic in question. While you may not want to read through the whole book in one go, I can definitely see how a teacher could use this very valuably in the classroom.

For example, the page on ‘How many planet Earths fit inside the sun?’ would be a fantastic introduction to a Space topic, and asking children to estimate the correct answer before opening the page would add a great element of competition (in case you’re wondering, it’s 1,400,000 but you would have to reduce them to rubble and goo first). Some of the maths (and large numbers) will be very complicated for children at the younger age of the spectrum, and a wide range of units are used, so despite the ‘Say Hello to Big Numbers’ introduction and coverage of different units in ‘Measuring Different Things’ at the end, some teacher explanation may be required, but overall this would make a fantastic addition to any STEM bookshelf.