top of page

Back to Children's Literature

Six Dinner Sid

9781632897114_p0_v2_s1200x630.jpeg

Show and Tell!
Great Graphs and Smart Charts 
An Introduction to Infographics

by Stuart J. Murphy

This entertaining book uses bar graphs, pie charts, line graphs, and pictographs to show favorite foods and common pets, rank amusement park rides, and track the miles driven on a family trip.

Resources for Show and Tell!:
Book Guide (English)


**Spanish Versions Coming Soon!

What type of infographic will you create and what story will it tell?    

Topics: bar graphs, pie charts, line graphs, pictographs, infographics

Activities To Do Together:

Before you read the book Show and Tell! Great Graphs and Smart Charts ask your child:

  • Have you ever seen a graph? If so, where?

  • Do you know what graphs are used for?

  • Why do you think Stuart J. Murphy, the author of this story, might have named the book Show and Tell! Great Graphs and Smart Charts?

As you read Show and Tell! Great Graphs and Smart Charts with your child:

  • Talk about how tally marks work when reading page 9 of the story.

  • Notice whether your favorite meal is represented on the bar graph on page 11. About how many people liked pizza best? How can you tell?

  • Consider the Infographic Ideas on page 41. Which ideas are most interesting to your child?

When you are done reading Show and Tell! Great Graphs and Smart Charts try the following activities with your child:

  • Plan your own graph. Decide on a topic that interests you. Take a poll. Keep track of responses with tally marks. Decide what type of graph you will use to show your results. Get creative!

  • Compare the Best Meals Ever Graph (page 11) and the Burp-O-Rama Graph (page 15). How are they the same? In what ways are they different?

  • Look at the Pets Galore pictograph on page 18. Talk about the information that you can gather from the graph. Which is the most popular pet? Does the graph show how many families didn’t have a pet? Can you tell how many people have both a cat and a dog? Do you know how many families were surveyed?

Questions for Mathematical Thinking:

  1. The book says that it’s often faster and more fun to learn something from a graph. Do you agree? Why or why not?

  2. Which graph did you like best in the book? Why was it your favorite?

  3. What steps would you take to make a graph of your friends’ favorite ice cream flavors?

  4. What type of graph would you use to keep track of a plant’s growth? Why would you use that type of graph?

  5. What similarities did you notice in the graphs in this book?What differences did you notice?

  6. How can a graph help people see trends? How could a graph help someone make a decision?

bottom of page