Room for Ripley by Stuart J. Murphy, Murphy, Sylvie Wickstrom (Illustrator), Sylvie Kantorovitz Wickstrom (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

Carlos pours cups, pints and quarts of water into his fish bowl, getting ready for his new puppy, Ripley. Readers can learn about capacity as they see just how much water it takes to make room for Ripley!

Children's Literature

Carlos and his sister discover the simplicity of volume through learning how to care for their goldfish. As they measure the amount of water needed to contain the fish, they are also learning equivalent measurements, such as two cups equals one pint and four pints equals two quarts. By setting the story in a realistic situation with tangible experiments that they can duplicate at home, this book becomes a treasure for both teachers and parents. Many of the new math curriculums teach math concepts through children's literature. This book certainly correlates with those whole language approaches to teaching arithmetic. By using diagrams that are drawn in a child-like hand, the book is inviting and uncomplicated. As children tend to view things in very concrete terms, this book neatly begins with a problem and ends with a solution, and does not leave anything unfinished.

Library Journal

Gr 2-4-Carlos figures out how much water it takes to fill his fishbowl after he puts in gravel, a castle, and plants. The writing is breezy and reads like a story about a boy who wants a pet, but the text constantly reinforces the mathematical concepts (how many cups in a pint, a quart, etc.). The illustrations are painted in muted primary colors against a lot of white space. Suggested ways for adults to follow up on the concepts with estimation, cooking, and shopping activities are included. A list of several additional titles that present similar concepts is appended. A fun, painless math lesson.-Christine A. Moesch, Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, NY Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

paper 0-06-446724-4 Room For Ripley (32 pp.; PLB paper Sept. 30; 0-06-027620-7; PLB 0-06-027621-5; paper 0-06-446724-4) Murphy (see review, above) ably conveys the role of volume in measurement for this MathStart entry, but the story he uses as a vehicle is dull. Carlos wants to buy a fish, which he has named Ripley, from the local pet shop. His sister Ana helps him prepare a home for the guppy by filling a gallon fishbowl with cups of water, all 16 of them. The insipid text isn't helped by the pictures; while Wickstrom does a good job using a pyramid format to illustrate liquid measurement, her characters's features are frozen and without expression. More interesting for readers will be to deploy the tips at the end of the book intended to enhance their understanding of capacity, e.g., estimating volume and comparing the liquid amounts in various containers. (Picture book. 7-9)

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