Published by Holiday House

Summary:  A group of cooking monkeys demonstrate how place value works.  Starting with the concept of using 26 letters to make up words, they show how ten digits make up numbers.  Just as rearranging letters gives words different meanings, so does moving around the digits in large numbers.  The concept of place value to show ones, tens, hundreds, and on up is introduced and reinforced with several examples.  A brief history of the Hindu-Arabic number system and its basis in the number ten is given.  There are also explanations of the comma in large numbers and the decimal point, with a brief explanation of numbers to the right of the decimal.  32 pages; grades K-4.

Pros:  A fun introduction to an important mathematical concept.  The illustrations add a light touch.

Cons:  The information about decimals may be a bit too much for kids just learning about place value.