Math

Nothing Stopped Sophie: The Story of Unshakable Mathematician Sophie Germain by Cheryl Bardoe, illustrated by Barbara McClintock

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Image result for nothing stopped sophie mcclintock

Image result for nothing stopped sophie mcclintock

Summary:  Growing up during the French Revolution, Sophie Germain faced a number of obstacles to a career in mathematics.  Girls received little education, and Sophie’s parents tried discourage her late-night studies by taking away her candles and warm clothing.  She was undaunted, though, and they finally realized there was no way to stop her from studying math. When she grew up, she corresponded with other mathematicians under a pen name, but they tended to lose interest when they discovered she was a woman.  She kept studying any way she could, and when the Academy of Sciences offered a medal worth 3,000 francs to find a mathematical formula that would predict patterns of vibration, Sophie was determined to find a solution. It took her several years, but in 1816, she became the first woman to win a grand prize from the Royal Academy of Sciences.  Her work helped other mathematicians and engineers build modern skyscrapers, including the Eiffel Tower. Includes additional information about Sophie and the problem of vibration she solved. 40 pages; grades 2-5.

Pros:  Perseverance is the theme of Sophie Germain’s story, and readers will enjoy learning of her eventual success in the face of daunting obstacles.  The illustrations do an amazing job of incorporating numbers and mathematical formulas into Sophie’s world.

Cons:  I really didn’t understand the vibration problem that Sophie was working on.

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How Many Guinea Pigs Can Fit on a Plane? Answers to Your Most Clever Math Questions by Laura Overdeck

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Feiwel and Friends

Summary:  From the creator of the Bedtime Math books and website comes this collection of questions submitted by real kids and answered using math.  The answer to the question in the title is found using the dimensions of a guinea pig, calculating how many could fit in one cubic foot, then showing how many cubic feet are in a 747 jet.  And that would be 472,500 guinea pigs.  The cute and eye-catching illustrations of guinea pigs show their measurements in all directions.  There’s even an interesting non-math fact thrown in (guinea pigs prefer company so much that in Switzerland it’s illegal to own a single pig).  Questions are divided into five chapters: Animal Math, Nature Gone Wild (“Which wind blows faster, a tornado or a hurricane?”), Math for Your Mouth (“How much food do we eat every day?”), Your Life in Numbers (“When will I be a billion seconds old?”), and Earth and Friends (“How many soccer balls will fit inside a hollow Earth?”).  The final section, “Now Do It In Your Head!” shows some tricks for quick mental math calculations.  144 pages; grades 2-6.

Pros:  Kids will be drawn into this book by the questions, and even those who claim to dislike math will follow along with the calculations to see how to find the final answer.  Check out the website (www.bedtimemath.org) for more mathematical fun.

Cons:  I wish there were more awesome kids’ math books like this being published.

Math Lab for Kids: Fun, Hands-On Activities for Learning with Shapes, Puzzles, and Games by Rebecca Rapoport and J. A. Yoder

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Published by Quarry Books

Summary:  37 labs in nine chapters introduce a wide variety of mathematical topics, such as geometry, topology, fractals, and graph theory.  Each chapter begins with a “Think About It” question to be considered before diving into the labs.  Each lab includes a materials list, a boxed math fact, instructions, and diagrams.  The activities seem like simple games, puzzles, and craft projects, but don’t be fooled, constructing with toothpicks and gumdrops can lead to a greater understanding of antiprisms and Platonic solids.  In the authors’ introduction, they state that the activities have been tested on kids ages 6-10, but can be enjoyed by middle school students, high school students, and adults.  Back matter includes pull-outs to use with a few of the labs, hints and solutions for many of the labs, and an index. 144 pages; grades 2+

Pros:  “Mathematicians play,” the authors state in their introduction.  If you think you hate math, or you know a child who hates math, this book may be just the remedy.  Every activity looks like fun and is simple to set up, yet leads to a mathematical way of looking at the world.  The colorful photos of kids engaged in the activities and the simple, clear diagrams add to the fun.

Cons:  My neighbors may call for reinforcements when I head outside with five feet of string, two broomsticks, and some chalk to draw a giant ellipse in my driveway.

1 Big Salad: A Delicious Counting Book by Juana Medina

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Published by Viking 

Summary:  The numbers from 1 through 10 are explored with the ingredients of a salad.  Each page has the numeral (1) and the word (one), along with an animal created from a fruit or vegetable.  There’s one avocado deer with a big brown nose made from the pit, two radish mice, three pepper monkeys, and so forth.  The produce has been photographed, then embellished with black line drawings to create the animals.  One big delicious salad is shown at the end, with a recipe for dressing on the very last page.  32 pages; ages 3-7.

Pros:  The graphics jump off the page in this fun introduction to both numbers and healthy eating.

Cons:  Will preschoolers want to eat those cute tomato turtles?

Billions of Bricks: A Counting Book about Building by Kurt Cyrus

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Published by Henry Holt and Company 

Summary:  A man, woman, and boy start building on the first page with bricks…two, four six.  People and bricks multiply with dizzying speed from there until the end of the book: molding and baking the clay to make bricks, mixing mortar, and building, building, building.  Schools, malls, government buildings: all are built with millions and billions of bricks.  Finally, at the end, “The work is nearly done, the cleanup has begun, let’s count the bricks we didn’t use, all together—one!”  32 pages, ages 4-8.

Pros:  Kids will love the catchy rhymes and the intricate illustrations showing many different people building immense structures with bricks.  While not a counting book in the traditional 1-2-3 sense, teachers can use it to introduce counting by two’s, five’s, and ten’s.

Cons:  Some child labor laws were undoubtedly violated in these pages.

Animals by the Numbers: A Book of Animal Infographics by Steve Jenkins

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Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 

Summary:  Teaching kids how to read graphs and charts?  Want to wow kids (or adults) with amazing animal facts (the biomass of termites is twice that of humans; the pistol shrimp makes a sound that’s louder than a jet plane taking off)?  This book has you covered on all fronts.  Looking at many different aspects of animals, including life spans, speed, size, and deadliness, every page has a different infographic that brings the information to life.  The sobering last few pages graph the winners and losers of mass extinctions of the past, including one that is going on right now, and chart the numbers left of some of the most endangered species.  Additional books and websites are listed at the end.  48 pages; grades 2-6.

Pros:  You won’t hear much from any child you hand this book to; he or she will be way too absorbed studying the graphs and charts on every page.  That reader may emerge on occasion to share some fascinating fact with you (a koi fish can live 226 years!  There are 20 times more spider and scorpion species than mammals!).  I’ve already raved about Steve Jenkins’ cut-paper illustrations enough times to fill a pie chart, so I’ll spare you another round.

Cons:  It’s hard to believe those pesky squirrels in my backyard sleep twice as many hours as I do.

City Shapes by Diana Murray, illustrated by Bryan Collier

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Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 

Summary:  Rhyming text follows a little girl around the city, finding different shapes in what she sees.  Shapes include a square, rectangle, triangle, circle, oval, diamond, and star.  The watercolor and collage illustrations are colorful and busy, making it a fun challenge to find the items mentioned in the text.  An author’s note tells of her love for New York City that inspired this book, and the illustrator’s note explains how he created the pictures (and that the girl in the book is his four-year-old daughter).  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Award-winning illustrator Bryan Collier has created a bright visual feast on every page of a book that would make an excellent introduction to shapes.  Kids will be inspired to find shapes in their everyday lives.

Cons:  Only seven shapes are introduced.