ALA Booklist

with adult help. On your sixth birthday you have lived 189,216,000 (one hundred eighty-nine million, two hundred and sixteen thousand) seconds. Amazing facts about millions, trillions, and much bigger numbers are explained in picture-book cartoon scenarios, contributed by Paul Meisel, that show kids in the classroom, at the seashore, in the rain forest, and all over the place, learning how to count by powers of 10. The design is busy, with sidebars and balloon comments. Each double-page spread is clearly meant to be talked about, and the discussions aren't overwhelming. The sheer numbers are astounding, though, whether they refer to the population of the U.S. or the number of stars in the Milky Way; and the explanation of exponents gives kids a way to count what seems unimaginable. In a funny gag, one kid keeps asking, Have we reached infinity yet? and the answers make math awesome and yet accessible--even for those of us who are scared of all those zeros. (Reviewed November 1, 1999)

Horn Book

Professor X and his dog, Y, introduce counting by powers of 10--leaping quickly from 1, 10, and 100 on to exponentially greater numbers such as millions, quindecillions, and googols. Sidebars include real-world examples of large numbers, and the conclusion clears up misconceptions about infinity. Unfortunately, the cartoon speech-bubble format makes for a bumpy read and a cluttered appearance.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

This """"math journey"""" progresses exponentially as kids try to keep up with the yield of an out-of-control popcorn machine. Professor X teaches them to count by powers of 10, demonstrating up to a googol (10100) and beyond, as the kids provide a running commentary. While they don't seem much closer to knowing how many kernels of popcorn they have, they do learn a lot of big numbers and entertain each other with such nonsense names as """"splendillion"""" and """"elephantillion."""" Schwartz (Magic of a Million Activity Book) originally used bags of popcorn to demonstrate powers of 10 in school presentations. However, here the hands-on technique of counting the kernels is never explained; the value of the popcorn example is less clear in book form. Sidebars rattle off numerical trivia, adding zeros on every spread (e.g., """"One little brown bat can snap up 600 mosquitoes per hour""""; """"There are 40,000 different characters in Chinese""""). These ever-larger numbers inspire Meisel's (The Fixits) lively cartoon illustrations of 105 bees and five billion (or 5 x 109) people in the world. While readers' minds will be reeling with zeroes, they will be buoyed by Schwartz's and Meisel's infinite enthusiasm for their subject. Ages 6-10. (Sept.)

School Library Journal

Gr 7-10-If there is value in plausibility in fiction, this cave adventure story is destitute. Granted, dysfunctional teenagers (here, three macho types and a wimp) might get together and stupidly bumble into an unknown cave without previous experience and without telling anyone their destination, despite being ill-prepared and ill-equipped, and then continue to make poor decisions that create difficulties and test their ability to survive. And some caving details seem right: the teens have only vague instructions as to the location of the cave and have some trouble finding it; and it's true that when first perceived, one seldom recognizes the sound of moving water. Unfortunately, many details are implausible-four regular flashlights continue to operate for 24 hours; one of the boys survives a 70-foot fall onto rock with only a shattered leg. And must negative stereotypes about snakes and bats (evoking images of demons and death) be reinforced? Time, distance, terminology, and descriptions of cave configuration (heights, distances, sizes of openings, etc.) are confusing and inconsistent. It's difficult to tell whether this is intentional (representing the boys' misperceptions) or whether Sweeney just didn't get it right. This talented writer continues to create unique, troubled characters in an emotionally charged setting, but unfortunately neither characters nor setting fully realize their potential. The great YA caving novel remains to be written.-Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Jr. High School, Iowa City, IA