Is this poetry? Math? A brainteaser? Yes! It’s all that and more. The poet J. Patrick Lewis has reimagined classic poems—such as Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” and Langston Hughes’s “April Rain Song”—and added a dash of math. Between the silly parodies and the wonderfully wacky art, kids will have so much fun figuring out the puzzles, they won’t guess they’re learning! Answers appear unobtrusively on each page, and engaging information about the original poets is included. Math games and concepts, poetry and poet biographies—it’s all so cleverly put together. This funny book is a treat for fans of words and numbers alike.
"Lewis cleverly combines math and language arts with this collection of humorous poetry parodies that present readers with math word problems to solve."--Kirkus
"Teachers and parents might challenge youngsters to try solving the math problems, then introduce them to the classic poems by reading them together."--School Library Journal
"Slack's bug-eyed caricatures are an exuberant complement to Lewis's delightfully offbeat union of poetry and math."--Publishers Weekly,
starred review "This book could come in handy for a variety of different classroom purposes."--Booklist
Children’s Poet Laurate J. Patrick Lewis borrows themes from famous poems and flips them on their heads to create wacky verses and riddles in a collection of math-based problem-solving parodies, while the illustrations keep the mix light and fun.