Book Review: Great Estimations

Great Estimations
by Bruce Goldstone
Henry Holt and Company
$16.95
ISBN 978-0-8050-74446-8
Ages 7-12
In Stores

A couple weeks back we held the annual book fair at two of the elementary schools I work at. One of the ways the book fair organizers hyped the kids into a froth was through a little game called “guess how many marshmallows are in the the jar”. The student who guessed the number closest to the actual number of marshmallows won the whole jar of ’em. I’m guessing most of you have taken part in something similar in your day. The problem? Half of the guesses were for one hundred, the other were for one million. For kids, it seems, there is not a whole lot in between. In Great Estimations, the author breaks down how to make a killing at “guess how many marshmallows are in the jar”. How I wish this book had been around in my younger days – the hot chocolate would be flowing like water, with plenty of those little puffs of sugar spilling out of the top. The book uses a variety of objects, from people to pennies all in the name of teaching the reader how to make an accurate estimate.
While I don’t foresee many repeat readings, there is a lot to like in Great Estimations.

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