Less Than Zero (MathStart 3)

Rating:
Summary: cute math story
Review: Perry the Penguin is trying to save enough money for a ice scooter. He needs 9 'clams'. He has none. Him mom pays him 4 clams for triming the ice in front of the house. He decides to make a graph. He charts out the money he earns on the graph. Then his friend invites him to the ice circus. Perry learns that it cost 5 clams. His friend loans him the extra clam he needs. He has several more encounters for earning and spending his clams, always charting his progress. He ends up in the negative a few times. But in the end he works out a way to get in ice scooter. I liked the way negative nubers were introduced in the book. The pictures kept my son's attention.
I also liked the extra math activites at the end of the book. This is a great math teaching tool.