Back to Children's Literature

Ada Twist, Scientist

Actual Size
by Steve Jenkins
​
This book shows the actual size of animals and parts of animals. You can compare the size of your foot to the size of an African elephant’s foot! Just how big is that crocodile smile? Will a pygmy shrew fit in your pocket?
​
Resources for Actual Size:
Full Book Review (English)
Full Book Review (Spanish)
Brief Book Review (English)
Brief Book Review (Spanish)
​
Actual Size.png

Have you ever been eye to eye with a gorilla? How about a giant squid?

​

Math Connections: 

Comparison                 Measurement

Ratios                          Counting

​

Activities to Do Together:

  • ​Count what you see in the pictures: teeth, legs, eyes.

  • Discover how many of your hands fit across the alligator’s mouth.

  • Encourage your child to weigh or measure different objects.

  • Compare yourself to the animals in this book. Are you taller, shorter, wider, narrower, heavier, lighter, etc.?

​

Vocabulary for Building Math Concepts:

across, as much as, feet, inches, length, long, ounce, pounds, 

up to, weigh

​

Extension Questions: 

  1. Are you taller or shorter than a gorilla?

  2. If you had a choice, would you like to be the shortest or tallest? Heaviest or lightest? Tell me why.         

  3. What other really big or really small animals are not mentioned in this book?

  4. Why do you think some of the pictures don’t show the whole animal?

  5. What do you think weighs about the same as a Goliath beetle (3.5 ounces)? (Hint: a standard deck of playing cards weighs about the same as a Goliath beetle.)