Mama Bear promises to make her special Blue Ribbon Blueberry pie for her four cubs, provided they go out and gather enough nuts, berries and seeds. When each one brings the ingredients, Mama divides them into groups of ten and adds them up to see if she has enough. While the book is compelling enough to share as a read-aloud, the story does not detract from the introduction to the concept of tens and ones, and the appealing illustrations are designed to support and reinforce the concept. (Ages 5-8)

Blue Ribbon Blueberry Pie. If the bear cubs gather enough nuts, seeds and blueberries, Mama Bear has agreed to make her special, lip-smacking-good pie.

Each time they fill their baskets, the cubs count berries, seeds and nuts by putting them in groups of tens and ones to see if they have enough for pie.

Everyday activities such as sharing a meal, sorting socks and getting ready for school can be part of learning math. In the MathStart Series,  everyday life is the basis for each entertaining story. Simple math concepts are embedded in each story so that young children can intuitively understand them. Adults can use the creative suggestions for activities in the back of each book to extend learning opportunities with children.

Developmentally appropriate and correlated to school grade levels and the curriculum standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, MathStart  can give children a head start!Blue Ribbon Blueberry Pie is the best—but do these bear cubs have enough ingredients to bake one? Regrouping their berries, nuts, and seeds by tens and ones reveals that one cub has not done her fair bear share. John Speirs's irresistible bear cubs make this lesson in regrouping one children will enjoy.

Blue Ribbon Blueberry Pie is the best—but do these bear cubs have enough ingredients to bake one? Regrouping their berries, nuts, and seeds by tens and ones reveals that one cub has not done her fair bear share. John Speirs's irresistible bear cubs make this lesson in regrouping one children will enjoy.