Book Review - Let's Make a Picture Graph: Apples Picked

Let's Make a Picture Graph: Apples Picked

By: Robin Nelson
Publisher: Lerner Publications
Publication Date: August 2012
ISBN: 978-0761389736
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: October 2012

Dan, Emma, and Ron had been busy picking apples, but they wanted an easy way "to show how many apples they picked." The way they decided to display their information was by creating a picture graph. By doing this they could see and compare their information. They started by writing "their names on the side of their graph," counted their apples, and drew them beside their names. The title of their graph was "Apples Picked" and at a glance they could see how many they picked as well as those their friends had picked.

Once the picture graph was complete they could start their comparison. For example, it was easy to see that "Ron picked five more apples than Emma." Dan picked four more apples than Emma and Ron picked four more than she did. Another chart they made simply showed how many apples they picked by using numbers. "The numbers [were] their data." When they wrote they names on the chart that was a label that told about the data.

This is an excellent book that will help the young student learn about data and how to create picture graphs. The first graph curriculum usually introduces the picture graph. This is one in the series, "Graph It!" that introduces the basic concepts of the tally chart, bar, circle, and picture graphs. The photographs alternate between informational and pictorial. The process of the creation of the picture graph is shown and then there are two comparative graphs. In the back of the book is an index, a glossary, a simple math section ("The Same Number of Apples"), and one on "How to Make a Picture Graph." There are additional complimentary downloadable resources on the publisher’s website.

Quill says: This book is part of a series that is a perfect introduction to basic graphing concepts.