I.Q. the class pet learns to tell time in I.Q., It's Time by Mary Ann Fraser, demonstrating how the mouse has fun every hour of the schoolday. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

PreS-K-The classroom pet featured in I.Q. Goes to School (2002) and I.Q. Goes to the Library (2003, both Walker) is now helping Mrs. Furber's students prepare for Parents' Night. With a digital clock prominently displayed on each page, the endearing mouse takes readers along on an hour-by-hour journey as the children learn about hour and minute hands, counting by fives, and the number of seconds in a minute. I.Q. continues to keep time even after school lets out as he tries to finish his special project before Parents' Night begins at seven-a large clock with a stick figure by each hour telling what happens in the child's day at that time. An analog teaching clock, a wristwatch, and stopwatch are used throughout the story to show different ways of telling time, but the digital clock, instead of a conventional variety, is the main focus as I.Q. tells when it's time for lunch, stories, and recess. Nonetheless, the pencil, gouache, and pen-and-ink cartoons are inviting and children will enjoy this amusing look at a school day as seen through the eyes of a mouse.-Kristine M. Casper, Huntington Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In his third adventure, I.Q., the intelligent classroom rat, helps Mrs. Furber teach her class how to tell time and prepare the classroom for Parents' Night. The story is a thinly disguised vehicle for teaching children about time, and the lively illustrations, which include a digital clock in every spread, almost never show a picture of the analog variety. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

The focus is on schedules and routines in I.Q.'s latest time-centered outing. The lovable class-pet-who-wants-to-be-a-student is this time preparing for Parents' Night. However, the class's schedule is so busy that he's finding it hard to get his special project done. He helps Mrs. Furber with the science lesson and joins in as the students go through their day--math, reading time, recess, lunch, PE--each governed by the time displayed on a digital clock. Throughout, I.Q. squeezes in work on his surprise, which is a hit with the parents. While the emphasis is on the routine of the school day, there are some elements of telling time mixed in. The students learn the reason for 24-hour days, practice telling time, count by fives and fill in a clock with the correct number of minutes. Fraser also covers the numbers of minutes in an hour and seconds in a minute. Delightful illustrations and wonderfully expressive faces extend the story. A comforting look at what to expect from kindergarten by an already beloved character. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.