A Pair of Socks

MathStart Level 1

by Stuart J. Murphy, Lois Ehlert (Illustrator)

Does a polka-dotted sock match a striped sock? Young children will learn about matching, an important early math skill, as a lonely striped sock searches the house for its mate. They will may even be inspired to practice this skill in their own sock drawers!

Best Children's Science Books 1997 (Science Books and Films)Does a polka-dotted sock match a striped sock? Young children will learn about matching, an important early math skill, as a lonely striped sock searches the house for its mate. They will may even be inspired to practice this skill in their own sock drawers!

Author Biography:

Stuart J. Murphy is a visual learning specialist. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, he has a strong background in design and art direction. He also has extensive experience in the world of educational publishing. Drawing on all these talents, Stuart J. Murphy brings a unique perspective to the MathStart series. In MathStart books, pictures do more than tell stories; they teach math.

Stuart J. Murphy and his wife, Nancy, live in Evanston, Illinois.

Genres: Mathematics, Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Juvenile, Fiction, Dogs

36 pages, Library Binding

First published July 19, 1996

About the author

PICTURES & WORDS, STORIES & BOOKS
MathStart http://www.mathstart.net
I See I Learn http://www.iseeilearn.com

I was one of those kids who talked all the time in class. I loved telling stories. One day in the 4th Grade, my teacher said, “You tell such good stories, maybe you should try writing some of them down.” “Wow,” I thought. “She thinks my stories are good.” That’s when I started to really enjoy writing.

I was also the class artist. When I wasn’t talking,I was drawing. When I was older, I studied art at the Rhode Island School
of Design. That’s where I became interested in visual learning—how we decode and acquire information from graphs, charts, diagrams, models, illustrations and other images.

I became especially interested in educational publishing and have worked on the development of over a dozen major textbook programs, championing visual learning strategies from Pre-K through high school in every major curriculum area.

MATHSTART

The inspiration to write math stories for children was sparked by my work on a high school mathematics program. Visual learning strategies helped teens—who had been characterized as “reluctant learners’—understand difficult math concepts. Putting math in the context of stories based on their experiences made them feel more comfortable with abstract concepts. They actually became eager to apply math to real-life problems.
If this approach worked for older students, I began to wonder what might happen if younger children were introduced to math this way!

Even before children can read—or speak many words—they can interpret visual information with ease. The MathStart books use simple stories coupled with diagrams, graphs and other visual models to teach everything from probability and pattern recognition to area, capacity and negative numbers.

The Best Bug Parade, (comparing sizes) was my very first published book. It was absolutely thrilling to see my name in print! I never expected that one day there would 63 MathStart books, split over three levels for ages Pre-K to Grade 4.

Each book includes two pages of review and activities designed to help teachers and parents extend learning beyond the story, along with suggestions of related books by other authors. After all, if a child enjoys learning math through stories, then let’s have more stories!
(Pictures, Words & Math: An interview with Stuart J. Murphy )

THE MAIN STREET KIDS' CLUB: A MATHSTART MUSICAL

Now get out your dancing shoes—there is a musical based on six of the MathStart books! The Main Street Kids’ Club was workshopped at Northwestern University and adapted by Scott Ferguson, who also created the perennially popular production of Schoolhouse Rock Live!
The songs are terrific. The math is spot on. And the club motto makes my heart sing: “Math Skills are Life Skills!”

STUART J. MURPHY'S I SEE I LEARN

My latest series of books is focused on young children—Preschool and Kindergarten age.
I See I Learn books teach social, emotional, health and safety, and cognitive skills, such as how to make friends, build confidence, play safely, work together, manage emotions, and make plans. These skills are important for school readiness and for living happy, healthy, productive lives.

The stories “star” a wonderful bunch of friends who live in See-and-Learn City and attend Ready Set Pre-K. The cast includes Freda, Percy, Emma, Ajay, Camille, and Carlos. And, of course, Pickle, the green bull dog—who happens to have a soft-spot for butterflies—and Miss Cathy, their teacher.

I See I Learn stories are modeled on real-life situations and, just as in real-life, often involve more than one skill. For example, Freda Plans a Picnic is about sequencing, a cognitive skill, but the picnic itself is a social event. Percy Plays It Safe focuses on playground safety skills, but playing successfully in a group also requires self-regulation, an emotional skill.

Each book is reviewed by a tea

Reviews

[Abigail Lydon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title (italicize): A Pair of Socks
Author: Stuart J. Murphy
Illustrator (if separate from author): Lois Ehlert
Genre: Fiction
Theme(s): Finding a match
Opening line/sentence (type directly from text): "I'll never be worn. It doesn't seem fair".
Brief Book Summary (2-3 sentences in your own words): The sock is searching for its matching pair, but can not seem to find the match that is exactly the same. The sock fears that they will never be worn, but then they find their match. The conflict is that the dog ripped a hole in the sock, but it is easily sewn and repaired.
Response to Two Professional Reviews (3-4 sentences in your own words): According to, Leila Toledo, this book is eye-catching for children because it is full of vibrant colors and unique illustrations. Carolyn Phelas states that this book is great for introducing a lesson about matching pairs because it offers a question at the end. The reviewers agree that this book is a fun and colorful way to start learning about the concept of matching.
Tell Me Framework (4 sentences in your own words):
Like(s): The plot line and conflict.
Dislike(s): None!
Patterns(s): Socks that are similar to the main sock, but slightly different.
Puzzle(s): Why do you think it is important that the author ended the story with a question?
Consideration of Instructional Application (3-4 sentences in your own words): After reading this book, children will have a starting point for understanding what it means to match. They will all be given a variety of loose parts (colored blocks, feathers, marbles, crayons, etc) to match. There will be different categories of matching, such as size, shape, and color.

[Brittany Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pair of socks is an okay introductory book for patterns and matching. I do feel like the author could have provided better examples of different patterns and matching. I think the author prioritized the illustrations more rather than the actual literature. However, I do believe for the target audience it is not a bad read, ideally for pre-k and first graders. I did however enjoy the activities at the end to get teachers and students engaged, as well as a section for parents and children to indulge at home.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a very exciting book. The illustrations by Lois Ehlert are nice, but the story is kind of meh.
The book does introduce matching, and I think the thing the two year olds I read this to liked best may have been looking at all the socks on the last page.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy introducing or reinforcing early childhood concepts with books. This series by MathStart and Stuart J. Murphy has been a great resource for covering those topics.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple rhyming text as a sock looks for its mate. Not quite a book for patterns however.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book, and good for counting and matching.

[The Transmuted Tree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red 2nd

[Guillermo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The children loved this during our Zoom storytime. Especially the helping me find pairs.

[Leyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

ilike it

[Juliette · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5 ✨ Used with PK, TK, and K for sock/stocking lesson. Focus on s blends and action words.

[Little Champs]

3087

[The Unschoolers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Owen was unimpressed (not the target audience) but Lily requested we read it again immediately after finishing, so clearly it was a hit. Best suited for an under 5 age as it's very simple.

[Addie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun. 2 year old liked it too

[Keli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Synopsis

A blue and red striped sock searches through the house looking for its mate.

Review

Through this book, children are introduced to the important concept of same and different. On each page, the sock finds a possible match in various places around the house. The following page has the two brightly colored socks side by side on a black background. This makes it easy for children to see the differences between the two socks. The book ends with a two page spread of all the socks encountered in the book and children are invited to find all the matching pairs. The simple yet brightly colored pictures makes it easy for children to discern the patterns and colors in each sock. To further support the educational aspect of the book, the story is followed with discussion points, extension activities and other books which deal with the same concept. This is a great book to teach this concept and children are sure to be excited about thier new found skill.

Critical Reviews

Children's Literature
This short review raves about the illustrations in the book. It states that this skill lays the foundation for math abilities. This was something I hadn't thought about. But, aside from the mention of the "vibrant illustrations," it doesn't mention anything about the appeal of the book.

No other reviews were found.

Other Bibliographic Information

Published in 1996 by HarperCollins Publishers

40 pages

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Pair of Socks is a very simple picture book that was written with the intention of teaching very young children to identify similarities and differences between patterns. This book would be useful in a kindergarten to first grade classroom but I would be hesitant to use it in older classrooms. The text and the concept of matching socks is very simple and relates to something within the child’s world and so it really helps to bring math to life for very young children. However, this book was not written with the intention of writing great children’s literature. The purpose of this book is very pointed and even provides activities that can be done with children in order to further reinforce the topic taught in the book. I would use this book in my classroom and I would actually like to find even more books from this publisher that I could use to introduce math concepts.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murphy introduces young children to the concept of patterns through a lone sock's search for its mate. The boldly colored artwork helps children clearly see various stripes, dots, and designs. There is a slight story in the rhyming text, but as with most concept books, fine literature isn't the point. Readers can practice their newly learned skill with a matching exercise. The book ends with suggested activities, such as clapping and stomping in different patterns, parents can try with children to extend the lesson. For babies and toddlers.

[Seth Lebaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Same or different. This book will help students look at groups of objects and shapes to see if they are the same or are they different. I would have objects on two sides of the room, so will be similar and others will be copies of each other. I would have my students (small group activity) try to match up the correct pairs as fast as they could and then talk about how are these objects the same. I would also have the students talkl about why the similars are not quite right.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story about making pairs. It's a very simple level one book but shows how to match up a pair. Throughout the story one sock is looking for it's pair by eliminating all the other socks that come up. At the end there is a page of all the socks for students to match up together based on the designs and coloring of the socks.

[Katterley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story. I bought this as part of a pack of books by Stuart Murphy that teach math concepts. They're all good, and have teaching lessons in the back that I was able to adapt to the summer reading program on numerous occasions. Shhh! Don't tell them they're learning at the library, it's only fun and games, OK?

[Christina Camp · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute story about matching socks. It also rhymes. It has very pretty and bright pictures and the text is easy enough for even early readers to work with. In the end of the book, the sock finds his match in the dog bed. I particularly liked this because my dogs used to steal my socks too. The last page of the book also has all of the socks together for the students to match.

[Kelly Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dislike mix match socks!! This book discusses socks that need matching pairs. This book is great to teach in math, when students are learning how to match. I would definitely use this book in a math lesson for younger grades.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief story of a red and blue sock trying to find their match. Lois Ehlert's illustrations make this title a delight for the concept of matching as she is a master of color, shape and design.
This is the first title I have seen that Ehlert illustrated for another author. Are there more?

[Rose]

E Mur

[Karyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent for learning about attributes, sorting, and patterns. Similarities and differences.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction to patterns for ages 4 & up.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book to use for discussing patterns. It also comes with helpful questions and activity ideas in the back.

[Elanor]

All by herself!

[Esther]

First Grade: Matching Pairs

Not really a full story. Rhyming.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will definitely be using as part of a socks/matching patterns lesson with my preschoolers. Test-drove with my 4.5-year-old nephew, and he liked it.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

simple and clear could work for any age group about a cock missing his mate.