Millions, Billions, & Trillions: Understanding Big Numbers

"One million is a lot," begins this useful book, the latest Adler offering aimed at making math concepts fun and accessible for kids. "What does one million look like?" Let's start with an experiment: kids are directed to pour (carefully) 1/4 cup of sugar onto a sheet of construction paper to see "about one million granules of sugar." Another way to conceptualize a million is by asking, "How many slices of pizza would one million dollars buy?" "Two full pies a day for more than sixty-eight years." How about a billion? "One thousand sundaes every day for more than five hundred years." Or a trillion? "One trillion popped [popcorn] kernels would fill two billion bags, enough for about six bags for every person living in the United States." The examples aren't all food-related; Adler also touches on population, economics, and even philanthropy ("Someone with one billion dollars could give away ten million dollars every year for one hundred years") in terms that his audience can understand. The text is well organized, so the concepts build on one another, and Miller's digital pictures, with smiley-faced children front and center, illustrate the ideas in kid-friendly ways. The copyright page includes a note about Common Core State Standards compliance for fourth grade (4.NBT.1), though the book looks like it's for much younger children. elissa gershowitz