Counting in Dog Years and Other Sassy Math Poems

Twenty-nine playful poems from the maven of math poetry + ingenious high-concept art = countless hours of mind-blowing, mathematical fun.


Award-winning author Betsy Franco is back with another pitch-perfect performance that explores a range of math topics—from fractions and time measurements to geometry and graphs—in a way that relates math to the daily lives of children. Even the most mathematically disinclined will warm to these innovative poems, illustrated with game-changing wit and whimsy by Priscilla Tey, whose clever mechanical “Numbots” guide readers through a surreal playground of calculated delights. From multiplying mice to missing socks, from stinky scales to bug races, this collection of imaginative verse subtracts the mystery, fear, and loathing from mathematics, making it engrossing and fun for all.

“Rollicking verses on "numerous" topics. . . . Tey takes each entry and runs with it, adding comically surreal scenes of appropriately frantic or settled mood. . . Readers can count on plenty of chuckles along with a mild challenge or two. --Kirkus Reviews Builds on familiar concepts while exploring new ideas. There are clever usages of meter and stress that pair very nicely with the counting aesthetic throughout. . . . School librarians looking for STEAM titles that pair silliness with educational topics in the style of Douglas ”

Rollicking verses on “numerous” topics. . . . Tey takes each entry and runs with it, adding comically surreal scenes of appropriately frantic or settled mood. . . Readers can count on plenty of chuckles along with a mild challenge or two.
—Kirkus Reviews

Builds on familiar concepts while exploring new ideas. There are clever usages of meter and stress that pair very nicely with the counting aesthetic throughout. . . . School librarians looking for STEAM titles that pair silliness with educational topics in the style of Douglas ­Florian will love this fun, ­math-themed poetry collection that joins English ­language arts and mathematics as a dynamic duo.
—School Library Journal

Silly humor and punchy payoffs abound in Franco’s (Mathematickles!, rev. 7/03) latest math-themed poetry collection. . . . That dash of cheeky ’tude is spot-on for the audience, and better yet, they’ll never feel like they’re stuck staring at a dull textbook. That’s thanks, in part, to Tey’s whimsical gouache scenes. . . Franco ends with “Math Makes Me Feel Safe,” a warm-hearted finale that counters mathphobia by centering math’s connection to and meaning in daily life.
—The Horn Book

The illustrations' combination of children, animals, and wacky robotic beings in exaggerated and slightly surreal scenes enhance the lighthearted tone. The final poem, “Math Makes Me Feel Safe,” brings young readers back to reality with everyday examples of math and validates the security it brings to many children.
—Booklist

Franco explores the joy of everyday mathematics in 20 rhyming poems. . . Tey’s gouache illustrations portray a riot of whimsy in muted tones, depicting children and adults of varied skin tones amid imaginative scenes, including a child floating alongside a straw and paper umbrella in an iced drink.
—Publishers Weekly

We love 3rd grade books that do double duty. These funny poems will also help kids practice math concepts like multiplication and fractions.
—We Are Teachers

Betsy Franco is the award-winning author of more than eighty books for children, including Messing Around on the Monkey Bars and Other School Poems for Two Voices, Mathematickles!, Zero Is the Leaves on the Trees, Pond Circle, and other titles that explore math and science through poetry. She lives in California.

Priscilla Tey is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and the author-illustrator of In-Between Things and Twitchy Witchy Itch. She lives in Singapore.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.