Play Date

June 1, 2001
K-Gr 2-Two lackluster series entries. Based on their reading level, both books seem aimed at children who would have already mastered the concepts presented. Play Date addresses calendar concepts, but the calendars in the illustrations are small and the days of the week are hard to read. The plot is humorous. Two girls trying to make a date are thwarted by unexpected events each day of the week. Finally, on the seventh day, they get together. The activities at the end of the book are easy to do and give children additional practice in finding days on a calendar. Henry Keeps Score revolves around adding and subtracting and the story is not as strong as in Play Date. Henry never wants his sister to have more of anything than he does, until they visit the dentist and Harriet has a cavity. Both books have large type and are illustrated with bright, cheerful cartoons. Purchase only if there is a very strong need for supplemental math materials.-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA

Copyright 2001 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.