Mac & Cheese, Pleeeeze!

January 1, 2008
When Caitlins teacher announces a Lunch Election, each student in the class chooses a main dish to campaign for. Every child in the school will vote, and the winning meal will be served at Spring Fest. The fear of seeing her choice, Mac & Cheese, beat out by Turkey Wieners is enough to get Caitlin in gear, and soon shes campaigning and counting the shifting number of voters committed to her candidate. She does the math in her head and so can readers, if they choose. As the numbers get larger, the calculations grow more challenging. Boxed hints on the pages of the story and an appended page called Mental Math Chart offer strategies for solving addition problems without writing them down. Colorful, child-savvy illustrations reflect the upbeat tone of the story, which can be enjoyed with or without reference to the implicit lessons in math and social studies.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)