The Wing Wing Brothers Geometry Palooza!

March 3, 2014
The ever-daring Wing Wing Brothers return for a third outing, ready to reveal three “amazing feats” of geometry. The birds first demonstrate relative positions by launching themselves “in front of,” “above,” “behind,” “beside,” and finally “through” a Ring of Fire. Next, Walter’s magic wand shows how shapes can create more complex shapes (“One square plus two triangles of equal size can make... a parallelogram!”), and Wendell saws a wooden box (and Walter) into four quarters in the final trick. Long’s comics-style panels bring clarity and comedy to each episode, and his irreverent closing gag will leave readers cackling—it turns out that taking a bow right after being sawn into four pieces isn’t a great idea. Ages 4–6. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management.

March 15, 2014
Those wild Wing Wing Brothers are back in their third escapade, this time exploring geometry. Three "amazing feats" hit kindergarten and first-grade Common Core State Standards for geometry. In the first, the five brothers take turns getting shot out of the Whammer. The goal is to go through the ring of fire. But they land in front of it, fly above it and land behind, wind up beside it and below it (it's near a cliff), until finally Walter manages the feat, though not without lighting his tail feathers on fire. In the second, Walter has a magic wand that "POOF!"s shapes into existence...on the beaks of his brothers. Two triangles of equal size make a square, while two squares create a rectangle. Combining them, Walter makes a parallelogram and a trapezoid, but when the weight proves too much for his brothers, these land on and break his legs: "Walter, you need little west." In the final amazing feat, Wendell saws a rectangular box into two and then four equal parts...with Walter inside. Long refers to these divisions as both fractions (in words) and quarters and halves. The humorous, brightly colored illustrations employ comic blocks to great effect, though they are in service to the text, which tries too hard to shoehorn obvious math concepts into funny scenarios. Though the slapstick from their hysterical debut, The Wing Wing Brothers Math Spectacular (2012), is evident, the painless-learning piece is still missing. (Math picture book. 4-6)

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May 1, 2014

K-Gr 2-The wacky, wide-eyed Wing Wing brothers impart a few geometry terms through their silly antics. Through panels illustrated in Prismacolor pencil and digital coloring, these goofy-looking birds describe various mathematical concepts. In the first story, readers learn about relative position, as each brother tries to aim for a ring of fire after being blasted out of a cannon. One lands in front of the ring, another behind, and so on until Walter is finally able to go through it. In the second story, the brothers start with triangles and squares to create rectangles, trapezoids, and parallelograms. The third story shows Walter lying in a rectangular box, which Wendell saws into half, then fourths. Unlike the magic trick seen often see on stage, Walter does indeed come away in four pieces, but it's nothing a bottle of glue can't fix. Though the back of the book states that it contains "an entertaining lesson for readers about basic geometric shapes and vocabulary" and "meets the Common Core State Standards for kindergarten mathematics in Geometry," it would take much more than this title to instill an understanding of the concepts. This work is much more a humorous review of facts readers already know than a lesson for those unfamiliar with the topic. If you have students who already appreciate the Wing Wing Brothers' goofy approach to mathematical concepts, this one won't disappoint; just don't expect it to take the place of thoughtful instruction.-Maggie Chase, Boise State University, ID

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2014
Preschool-G With a pizzazz all their own, the Wing Wing Brothers perform three AMAZING FEATS that combine elements of a magic show, a circus performance, and a vaudeville comedy act. This sequel to The Wing Wing Brothers Math Spectacular (2012) and The Wing Wing Brothers Carnival de Math (2013) takes a crack at geometry with one feat illustrating relative positions, another on combining simple shapes to larger ones, and a third called Partitioning Rectangles into Two and Four Equal Shares. The acts unfold in comics-style panels and are expressively drawn in pencil and digitally colored. The short text creates humorous situations, but the madcap, cartoonlike characters generate the laughs. The creative use of words starting with the letter W makes this a standout choice for teachers during W week. What's with the Wing Wing ? Willy, Woody, Walter, Wilmer, and Wendell are five birdlike creatures with distinct personalities. They're sometimes earnest but basically daffy characters with a knack for making math fun.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)