SEAWEED SOUP

The talents of Murphy (Captain Invincible and the Space Shapes, above, etc.) and Remkiewicz (Froggy Eats Out, p. 414, etc.) add up to a humorous tale about sweet-natured Turtle, a charming host who invites a succession of sea creature friends to enjoy some of his fresh seaweed soup. Turtle’s friends think the “thick and green, gooey and slimy” soup looks suspect, but don’t want to hurt their kind friend’s feelings. For each additional guest, Turtle sets a place at his table with a cup, spoon, napkin, and bowl—the elements of the mathematical sets (also called one-to-one correspondence) that is the story’s theme. As the number of guests increases, Turtle finds that he has to make do with a variety of tableware that doesn’t always match but that serves the same function. The guests find to their surprise that the soup is delicious, and their polite manners and Turtle’s touching hospitality provide life lessons beyond math concepts. A chart near the end shows all the tableware sets in rows, offering additional opportunities for counting and matching subsets. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-7)