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.

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