It's National Metric Week, and Scarcely a Book to Be Found

We've had a lot on our minds since 1975, but have you ever wondered what happened to the metrification of America?
I remember buying a couple of dozen books for my elementary library and seeing dual interstate distance markers go up in miles and kilometers way back in the late 1970's, following the Metric Conversion Act of 1975. People, Get Ready! was the watchword, but since that time, even the dual distance signs have vanished, along with any firm date for our conversion. A quick look through booksellers' catalogs shows almost nothing for young readers published within the past dozen or so years.

Still, the metric system makes sense for international commerce and for scientific study, and our kids need to read up on the whys and wherefores of switching to the base-10 measurement system. Two books still available, if only through third parties, one in picture-book format and one early chapter book, look like a good place to start.

Polly's Pen Pal starts with Polly's curiosity about what her new pen pal looks like. Ally is 125 centimeters tall, weighs 25 kilograms, and lives 450 kilometers away. Polly has to find out what size Ally is and if she's close enough to visit.

Metric System (New True Book), one of the notable New True Books, has the virtues of its series--short, informational chapters well-written on a Grade 3-4 level, plenty of illustrations, and a useful glossary and index to tie it all together.

For the pre-middle school years, "that's all folks!"

It seems we should do better.