Reviews for If you made a million
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Gr. 2-5, younger for reading aloud. The author and illustrator of the highly original How Much Is a Million? [BKL Je 15 85] are back, still stamping out innumeracy with evident delight. Exploring mathematical concepts beginning with "one dollar is worth as much as four quarters or ten dimes or twenty nickels or one hundred pennies" (all graphically laid out coin by coin), they explain how one earns money, how checks are used instead of cash, why banks pay interest on money deposited, why interest is charged on loans, and what a million dollars looks like. In Kellogg's exuberant watercolor illustrations, a crew of children, assisted by their guide and employer Marvelosissimo the Mathematical Magician, complete a series of increasingly difficult jobs and consider many improbable ways of spending their dollars. The open-ended conclusion--"Making money means making choices. So what would you do if you made a million?"--will generate discussion. For those wanting a fuller explanation of the concepts, Schwartz includes more detailed information densely packed into a small-print, three-page afterword. Teachers and parents explaining the currency system will find the book helpful, while children will find it an amusing, unintimidating guide to money matters. --Carolyn Phelan
Publishers Weekly
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Sophisticated mathematical and financial concepts are difficult to teach, yet most children are fascinated by money. In a savvy follow-up to How Much Is a Million? Schwartz and Kellogg have succeeded in presenting money in terms that correspond to how children think. In a funny, accessible way, the team explores relationships between accomplishing tasks and earning payment, saving and spending, and other concepts including interest, the relative value of various denominations, writing checks and even financing a mortgage. Kellogg's typically humorous ink and watercolor drawings will compound reader interest while wittily reinforcing and expanding ideas. An author's note recaps the facts, including a history of money and banking, checks, loans, income tax, and the volume of money vs. its value. Splendid fare. Ages 6-10. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Ages 5-10. Similar in approach to the duo's book, above, this begins with simple concepts of equivalence, such as one quarter is the same amount of money as "five nickels or two dimes and one nickel or three nickels and one dime or twenty-five pennies." As the amounts climb into the thousands, readers will agree that a truckload of pennies is less convenient than large bills or even a check. Illustrated with clarity and wit, this provides a good introduction to money matters as well as to large numbers.
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
In a welcome companion to How Much Is a Million? (1985), an exploration of the meaning of ""a million dollars,"" including a notion of how much work it represents; how many actual pieces of US money in different forms it would take to make it (e.g., a 95-mile stack of pennies); how to keep it, including rudimentary but clear and accurate outlines of banking and interest: and what it might buy--even introducing the concept of loans. There is a substantial range of difficulty here, from the idea of earning a penny for feeding fish to accumulating $10 by performing other child-sized tasks (with coins and bills depicted in various combinations) to the explanation of compound interest in the author's admirable, lengthy concluding notes (""if you haven't learned about [decimals and percentages], skip to Checks and Checking Accounts""). But Schwartz's examples (buying a castle called Gloomsby Hall or tickets to the moon; babysitting an ogre) and Kellogg's detailed illustrations--featuring a cheerful wizard, comic beasts, a cuddly unicorn, and his usual deliciously exaggerated action--are so imaginative and witty that they should appeal to a children with a wide range of ages and abilities. Copyright ŠKirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Ebullient pictures extend and clarify concepts of being a millionaire in this humorous introduction to the uses of money.
School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Gr 2-4-- Earning, spending, saving and borrowing money are the subjects explored in this sequel to How Much is a Million? (Lothrop, 1985) . Aided by Ancona's clear photographs of various denominations of money, Schwartz explains economic concepts verbally, while Kellogg fancifully and humorously illustrates them. ``Cheerful and Willing'' children perform varied chores for Marvelosissimo the Mathematical Magician, who suggests options for using their earnings. As the tasks become more difficult (babysitting an obstreperous ogre, for example) pay increases and options widen. The usual Kellogg profusion of smiling cats, earnest dogs, prancing ponies, and a unicorn fill and spill over the pages. Ideal for classroom use by creative teachers, and attractive enough to keep the interest of even non-mathematically inclined readers, this is sure to be popular. These concepts are more complex than those in Schwartz' previous book, however, and will be best suited to slightly older readers. This is one investment that's sure to pay interest in reader dividends. --Louise L. Sherman, Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
