Let's Estimate: A Book About Estimating and Rounding Numbers

Gr 3–5—Adler and Miller (Circles; Place Value) team up again to introduce the concepts of estimating and rounding to young readers using relatable, practical examples and appealing illustrations. Estimations as "approximate answers" are first defined as acceptable responses to questions whose exact answer is continually changing, such as the population of the United States. Rounding is then presented as a tool that can make estimations, such as the cost of groceries or the product of two double-digit numbers, easier. The artwork reinforces the conceptual examples found in the text and features three unnamed children and five anthropomorphic dinosaurs drawn in a pleasing cartoon style. Important terms are shown in bold but are defined only within the text; there is no glossary or other back matter. Although the concepts are conveyed clearly, the subject matter, density of the text, and smaller font size make this selection much more likely to be helpful to students when shared with a caregiver or educator in a one-on-one or small group setting than when read independently.