Kid Math: ABC Math Riddles Book

ABC Math Riddles by Jannelle Martin was on the shelf at the library when I went looking for some math books to use with my four year old.  He is currently really into riddles and jokes so I thought that it might work two things together for a fun learning experience.

The pages have a fill in the blank word at the top followed by a poem to figure out what the word blank should be.  An example of one that I really liked was:

H starts my name, X fills in the third space.
My straight sides make my unique base.
A triangle I'm not,
six angles I've got.
A polygon fine, I'm a special design.
Can you give it a try?  What shape an I?

The picture on the page is of an elephant with a soccer ball.  The hexagon is red and in the center of the ball so that you can count the sides and figure out the shape.  It is easy enough to figure out the number and then work towards figuring out the shape if they aren't familiar with the word.  There was one for a rectangle and triangle but none for other shapes.  I am thinking that a geometry one would be good to use all the shapes and have the pictures and rhymes.

Here is an example of one that I didn't even get on the first try:

I start with a V, there's an L at the end.
I'm straight up and down and I never bend.
Like a skyscraper high,
I point to the sky.
Power poles point up like me.
What, oh what, can I be?

Here is your only hint on the page- there is a tower of animals with mouse sitting on a penguin on a bunny on a cat on a dog on an elephant.  In case it took you two reads and you still couldn't figure it out.  The answer is vertical.  Not exactly a kid term right?  Is it only me??

Final review, it was a great book from the library but not something that I would use over and over to justify buying so check out your local library and see if they have it to read!  I think that these would be fun to put on front and back of flash cards or on laminated papers for the kids to fill in the words.  This book was a little more advanced that a four year old because some of the words (like odd, even, numeral, and others) are not words that they know but it is nice way to introduce them.  With a little bit of creativity, you might be able to come up with a few that would work for your kids and a great way to have them learn it.

Hope you read the book with your little learners and see how many they figure out!