Good Times Reviewed
Amazon.com
The author of The Grapes of Math and Math for All Seasons continues his crusade to make math make sense by taking on
the biggest of math bugbears: the multiplication tables!
Greg Tang's proven methods--giving kids tools
rather than rules and more memorization--pay off once again, as he uses rhymes and commonsense tricks to
walk through the multiplication tables from zero to 10. For example, if you know how to multiply by two
("Two is very fast and fun, quickly double and you're done. What's that you say, be more precise?
Okay then, just add it twice!"), then fours ("... please just always double twice!") and eights
("... doubling three times works just great!") should be a cinch. Some of the rhymes are even
as clever as Tang's tips: Over a panda pool game, he advises, "Nine is faster to compute if at
first you overshoot. Here's a very clever tack, do 10 times and then subtract! What is 9 x 9?
It's ten 9's minus 9.... What is 9 x 7? It's ten 7's minus 7."
Tang's text makes for a fun read-along, and illustrator Harry Briggs keeps things interesting with
his computer-generated, animal-inspired spreads, with dancing chickens, ice-cream-flinging monkeys,
and a fortunetelling cat. Kids won't feel left out of the action either: each section ends with a couple of challenges,
and a key in the back spells out all the answers.
--Paul Hughes
Barnes & Noble
5 Star Rating
The Best of Times is a wonderful teacher resource to introduce the concept of
multiplication and ideal for parents to read with their own kids. What I like
most about this book is that it teaches children to work out problems, to make
connections, and to use different strategies, rather than to rely on the mundane
process of memorization of math facts. By solely memorizing facts, no learning
takes place! And students won't be able to transfer their learning to different
situations that they come across. To be a successful problem-solver, students
need a bank of strategies to draw from - this book meets that need. Greg Tang
has the wonderful gift of making math "make sense" for kids!
Bank Street College of Education
"In and absolutely superb math book for kids, Tang helps children understand the concept of multiplication instead of
merely drilling the times tables. Clever rhymes suggest alternate ways of approaching problems and problem-solving strategies
while bright, bold illustrations convey information visually for increased understanding."
BeniciaNews.com
"If you and your children are looking for an enjoyable way to learn multiplication, The Best of Times just
might be the book for you. Using fun rhymes and cleverly memorable techniques, author Greg Tang has put
together a quick-witted collection of basic rules and tricks to teach children an elementary understanding
of multiplying. Instead of memorization, Tang hopes to instill knowledge that will teach children
to multiply numbers of any size, not just the ones they memorize. Illustrator Harry Briggs fills the
pages with amusing drawings that will keep kids dancing toward the next page, right along with his computer-generated
characters. Tang's insightful book of poems -- the third in his math series with titles that parody
great literature (The Grapes of Math, etc.) -- is a combination of playfulness and learning that will ease
even the most math-phobic kids into a more comfortable math state of mind."
--Katie McAllaster Weaver
Booklist
This upbeat picture book, presenting multiplication using numbers from zero through ten, is illustrated with often
humorous pictures of animals engaged in activities such as fishing, painting, dancing. For every factor in the times table,
Tang supplies a mnemonic rhyme, such as "Six is pretty quick to do, / just multiply by 3 then 2. / If this sounds
like too much trouble, / triple first before you double!" and "Seven doesn't take much time, / even though it is a prime.
/ Here is all you have to do, / first times 5 then add times 2!"
For the many people wondering if it isn't easier
to memorize the times tables, Tang notes, "Instead, wouldn't it be great if by understanding math better you could
learn to multiply numbers of any size, not just the ones you memorize?" Along the way, his playful juggling of
numbers and the clearly laid out equations and visual explanations may help children learn to calculate more
easily in their heads, see the patterns implied, and understand what they are doing when they multiply numbers.
Encouraging rhymes and colorful, jaunty illustrations bolster the multiplication lesson.
--Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book-of-the-Month Club
Main Selection
Junior Library Guild
Fall 2002 Main Selection
Kirkus Reviews
"Tang would like to take the memorization out of the multiplication tables and insert some understanding.
Play with the numbers, he suggests, get to know them and their relationships; use a little common sense.
Here, critters of all stripes break the tables down into more digestible bits. Set in splashy, saturated,
color, zippy little quatrains introduce each table and explain his approach."
Midwest Book Review
"These lessons will last a lifetime by giving kids a concrete understanding of numbers that will help them
truly understand the multiplication process, not simply remember numeric series. Tang has provided a truly
revolutionary and valuable tool that deserves a place in every elementary math curriculum."
PBS TeacherSource
Recommended Math Book
"Rote memorization of the multiplication tables isn't the only way to conquer multiplication.
In this approach, Tang shows how to combine what you do know to arrive at what you don't know.
Instead of memorizing, for example, 7x5=35, think of 7x5 as being half 7x10. The book's final pages
include the times tables and Tang's rules restated. "
School Library Journal
"A multiplication book that really adds up. Snappy rhymes and problems to
solve, going from 0 to 10, with one number per spread, offer valuable
strategies that will help develop number sense ... Brigg's humorous cartoon illustrations in bold, flat
colors add to the book's appeal. Overall, this title would enhance math
units and would be a fun read-aloud."
--Barbara L. McMullin
Casita Center for Technology, Science & Math, Vista, CA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Copyright ©2002 Greg Tang