If you have that one elementary reader who lives and breathes dinosaurs, but it is poetry month at school, Last Laughs: Prehistoric Epitaphs just might be the book for them.

The rhythm and rhyme of these short epitaphs (twenty-one entries) give whimsical tales from creatures of the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic Eras. The epitaphs would not be nearly as enjoyable without the silly illustrations by Jeffrey Stewart Timmons.

There are facts about the prehistoric creature beneath each epitaph because the epitaph itself is not factual. I doubt any of the young readers will have any idea of whom the comic paleontologist Prof. M. Piltman, illustrated throughout the book, references dealing with the anthropological hoax of a “human skull” known as the Piltman Man.

The far left and right margins of each page turn provide the scientific Era and Period for each prehistoric creature being written about on that page.

Getting young people to eat healthily is presented through the use of bright colorful photos of fresh foods and examples of the daily amount of each food that should be eaten.

The five food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy are each given two or three pages including a photo of nutrient rich foods and two of three sentences in large font. The photos will stir the reader’s senses to want to eat something almost immediately. Examples of appropriate daily amounts each food group include: 32 grapes, 18 baby carrots, 1 cup of corn flakes, 1 egg, and 2 cups of milk.

Sometimes Foods suggests foods with too much sugar and/or fat to be eaten very often. They include: candy, soda, French fries, ice cream, and cake. It states, “Some foods are not very healthy. These foods have few nutrients.” (23) It also states, “People need to make good choices to have a healthy diet. Eating a healthy diet gives you energy to work and play!” (27)

This is followed by Try This! suggesting the reader keep a food log for a few days and the Fun Facts, Glossary, Further Reading, and Index.

This series deals with math and how math can be found everywhere. The math this time, at the art museum, is not as straight forward as younger children might need. This book would best be used as a group read.

“This book is not intended to analyze art from a mathematical perspective. Instead, the intent is to highlight how math often informs art and also influences our daily lives.”

Geometry is the often the easiest form of math to see visualized is the art presented within this book.

Artworks by : Jasper Johns, George Seurat, Wassily Kandinsky, Fernand Leger, Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas, Rene Magritte, Kim Jae-hong, Henri Matisse, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, and Salvador Dali are presented in connection with math vocabulary.