Full House

Full House written by Dayle Ann Dodds and illustrated by Abby Carter is a math literacy story. As it reads on the cover it is "an invitation to fractions". It is important to integrate subject areas and find new ways to teach subjects such as math, rather than having students just memorize math rules. This story is great for read aloud during a lesson on fractions. But it's not only a good resource for a math lesson, the story is told in a repetitive, rhyming style that also is beneficial for teaching reading with fluency. Young readers will love the flow and repetitiveness of the story about Miss Bloom's Inn and the visitors that come to stay there. Each of 5 guests fill 5 of the 6 rooms, and Miss Bloom's is the 6th room filled making the Inn 6/6 full that night. Then, in the middle of the night, her 5 guests sneak down into the kitchen and each eat 1/6 of the strawberry cake on the counter, leaving the last 6th for Miss Bloom. The story and the illustrations make this book special because many other books that incorporate math are not as creative. Students will love reading this book with the teacher, rather than just sitting quietly with paper and pencil doing math problems.