Zero the Hero

Holub, J. (2012).  Zero the hero.  New York:  Henry Holt and Company.

Zero was not just any number...he was nothing, nada, zip, ziltch!  Whether he was added or subtracted, he didn't mean diddly-squat.  Once he finds out the power of the zero rule in multiplication, he was excited, but the others ran for lives fearing extinction.  That is when zero decided to disappear.  He was greatly missed while he was away, no rounding to the tens or hundreds, a missing even number, etc.  Meanwhile the Romans invaded (Roman numerals) and it took ZERO THE HERO to save the day.

Such a cute story with plays on words throughout!  Here is a book trailer made by Macmillan retrieved from http://us.macmillan.com/zerothehero/JoanHolub on May 11, 2012. 

If you enjoyed this book, you might also enjoy E-mergency written and illustrated by the illustrator of Zero the Hero, Tom Lichtenheld.


For some math activities, check out these math games.  You will find activities about math that were mentioned in the book; such as Roman Numerals, Rounding, and other math operations.

Here is a really fun activity from Scholastic.  It is an article talking about having a Zero Hero coming to visit your school on the 50th and 100th day of school.  However, he is a mystery, and no one has ever seen him.  He leaves footprints in the classroom and clues, etc.  It seems really fun!!

Other fun math picture books:
Once Upon a Dime: A Math Adventure
Full House: An Invitation to Fractions
Just a Second
Sir Cumference series
The Math Start series