More Than One

by Miriam Schlein, Donald Crews (Illustrator)

Overview

Everyone knows that one is one. But can ONE be more than one? Absolutely! ONE PAIR is always two; ONE WEEK is seven days; and ONE DOZEN is always twelve. And that's just the beginning of this brilliant and original counting book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780688141028
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/31/1996
Pages:	24
Sales rank:	750,454
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.25(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Miriam Schlein is the acclaimed author of numerous books for children, including the classic stories of motherly love The Way Mothers Are and Just like Me.

Donald Crews is the renowned creator of many celebrated children's books, including the Caldecott Honor Books Freight Train and Truck. He and his wife, Ann Jonas, live in New York's Hudson River Valley.

Editorial Reviews

Budding Noam Chomskys may be disappointed that this book doesn't address the linguistic question of why singular nouns can refer to groups of things or people. Just about everyone else, however, is certain to enjoy how these two veterans of children's literature show that "one can be more than one." Schlein's (I Sailed with Columbus) text is simple but always playful, whether she's explaining that "a pair of shoes is always two," or using the various permutations of a family to show that "one can be different, different every time." Caldecott Honor artist Crews's (Freight Train) watercolor and gouache illustrations have an airy, often impressionistic feel that works well with Schlein's non-pedantic approachalthough he displays a surer hand in depicting nature (a flock of birds, a school of fish) than in rendering people. Ages 4-up. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

PreS-Gr 2-In this concept book, readers learn that one can be more than one, as when "one pair of shoes is two shoes." Throughout the book, this idea is expanded upon to show that the number one can represent other numbers. The colorful watercolor and gouache artwork clearly illustrates each concept as it is introduced. People of various races and ages obviously enjoy one another's company and help make mathematically abstract ideas more concrete. More Than One is more than the usual counting book and is an enjoyable, accessible introduction to the world of numbers.-Elizabeth Trotter, Scott County Public Library, Georgetown, KY

School Library Journal

Can one be more than one? Yes, when there are two shoes in one pair, nine players on one baseball team, and twelve eggs in one dozen. One family can be two or three or four or more people, and one ocean "has billion/and trillions/and skadillions/of drops of water"—but they are still one family and one ocean. Schlein (Big Talk, 1990, etc.) shows that one doesn't have to be but always is one, and makes an intriguing puzzle for children to ponder. Crew's illustrations, as comfortable and sturdy as the pair of shoes "on your feet/or under the bed," and as wispy and full of flight as a flock of birds that is "awfully hard to count," are nicely wedded to the concept.

Kirkus Reviews