Elevator Magic by Stuart J.Murphy and Brian Karas

Title of the Book: Elevator Magic

Author: Stuart J.Murphy

Illustated by: G.Brian Karas

Recommended to: k-3 graders.

Math start: Level 2

Summary:

Learning how to subtract using a simplified "number line" helps children understand the concept of subtraction. Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. Who knew that riding an elevator could be such an adventure?

The plays on words make this book about subtraction amazing as well as informative. The writer uses a common daily activity to teach some math basics. Ben meets his mom at work on the 10th floor of her office building. On the way down in the elevator they make several stops. Ben needs to subtract the number of floors to determine which number to push on the elevator button. The magic begins when their experience include a stop at Farm Bank and Trust (with live farm animals), and the Hard Rock Candy store that features a live hard rock band! This is part of a series of "Math Start" books that use every day situations to teach math concepts. The text is simple and fun to read and the illustrations are large and colorful. The last two pages list activities parents and teachers can use with this book to present math concepts to children. Kara’s zany illustrations support the main concept being taught, while picking up on the humor in the word play. The repeated image of the elevator controls, the child's monologue, and numerical equations that display his figuring further enhance the understanding of how subtraction works. The book concludes with several easy-to-apply activities to extend this presentation.

Activities

Ask questions throughout the story, such as "Which floor is 2 floors down from the 10th floor?" and "If you go 3 floors down from the 8th floor, where will you be?"