Review of Infinity: Figuring Out Forever, by Sarah C. Campbell, photographs by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell

Children's Nonfiction Review, Mathematical, Starred Review 0

Infinity

Figuring Out Forever

by Sarah C. Campbell
photographs by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell

Astra Young Readers, 2022. 32 pages.
Review written December 22, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review

Kids are fascinated by infinity. Well, my kids were fascinated by infinity, anyway. But more kids can hear about the ideas behind infinity and become fascinated with the help of this simple picture book.

I like that the illustrations are photographs, helping kids grasp that the idea of infinity is all around us. There’s a picture of a kid sitting between two mirrors and looking into them. There are pictures of starry skies, flocks of birds, and leafy trees. On another page, they’ve written out a googol.

But the book also makes clear that infinity isn’t just big numbers. They also demonstrate an orange slice, with half taken away, then half of that taken away, and so on.

Thinking about infinity is tricky. You have already thought of a large number and added one, but that might lead you to make the mistake of thinking infinity is something really, really big. Remember, though, infinity is not something big. Infinity is endlessness.

They tie it up by saying that even though the stars in the sky are finite, your mind has no limits.

The back matter is fun because it includes the ideas of Hilbert’s Hotel as an infinite school with infinite school buses arriving. It’s kind of a shame it’s buried in the back matter — but if this intrigues your kid, they need to find a copy of The Cat in Numberland, by Ivar Ekeland, where the whole book explores those ideas, and why adding infinity to infinity can just be infinity.

Overall, the book is a straightforward introduction for kids. The photo illustrations make it extra inviting.

sarahccampbell.com
astrapublishinghouse.com

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Review of Trajectory, by Cambria Gordon

Award Winners, Historical, Mathematical, Teen Fiction Review 0

Trajectory

by Cambria Gordon

Scholastic Press, 2024. 285 pages.
Review written January 24, 2025, from my own copy, sent to me by the publisher.
Winner, Mathical Book Prize, High School

My committee just selected this as a Mathical Book Prize Winner, so I’m going to post a review. It’s historical nonfiction about a teenage girl named Eleanor who gets selected to work as a human computer calculating firing tables during World War II.

I’d had no idea such work happened, and that part was super interesting. Later, Eleanor gets selected to go to a desert base and help figure out how to improve the Norden bombsight. And she meets a handsome pilot while she’s there.

The setting is fascinating, based in historical fact that I’d known nothing about, and it’s always lovely to find a book that features a mathematician.

I did have some reservations. Her mathematical “gift” is portrayed as a rather mystical thing that comes and goes, and I didn’t like that portrayal. And I’m skeptical of the details about the Norden bombsight (the kind of development done seems to have mostly happened in the 1930s) and completely failed to suspend disbelief for a climactic scene where they needed a mathematician to save the day.

But – that’s why we choose winners via committee! The vast majority reminded me that this is historical fiction. And mathematics certainly go into bomber technology. And female mathematicians certainly did important work during World War II. And is it so terrible to read about a female mathematician saving the day with her mathematical skills, even if it feels a tiny bit implausible to me?

So anyway, I’m proud of our winner. You might need to suspend disbelief a bit, but there’s a good tale here about using math to win the day. And this year had more high school titles to consider than any other year I’ve served on the Mathical committee, which was a wonderful milestone.

cambrialgordon.com

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Review of The Great Mathemachicken: Hide and Go Beak, by Nancy Krulik, illustrated by Charlie Alder

Animal Characters, Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Mathematical, Starred Review 0

The Great Mathemachicken

Hide and Go Beak

by Nancy Krulik
illustrated by Charlie Alder

Pixel + Ink, 2022. 88 pages.
Review written May 6, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review

Here’s a silly and fun book about a chicken named Chirpy who wants to go beyond the coop. When she gets the chance to sneak out, she follows the children Randy and Andy onto the big yellow bus to go to school. Once there, she catches a ride on a rolling backpack.

Chirpy rolled into a room full of kids.
Which made her wonder:
At home kids stayed outside the coop.
Chickens stayed inside the coop.
Could school be a kid coop?
If someone saw Chirpy in a kid coop, would they make her leave?
Hmmm. . . .
Chirpy needed a hiding place, just like when the chicks played hide and go beak in the coop.

While Chirpy is hiding in the classroom, she learns basic principles of simple machines.

And when she goes home, those principles may be exactly what the chickens need to catch a fox!

The author and illustrator weren’t going for plausible in this book, but it sure is fun to read. Chirpy the curious chicken, excited about learning everything she can, earns her title of Mathemachicken.

At the back of the book, there are instructions for making your own simple machine, a Whirly-Swirly Wheel-and-Axle Toy. While following Chirpy’s adventures, kids may learn things themselves. The book is marked as Book One, so I’ll be watching for more.

realnancykrulik.com
PixelandInkBooks.com

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Review of The Calculus of Friendship, by Steven Strogatz

Mathematical, Nonfiction Review, Starred Review, True Stories 0

The Calculus of Friendship

What a Teacher and a Student Learned about Life While Corresponding about Math

by Steven Strogatz

Princeton University Press, 2009. 166 pages.
Review written September 9, 2021, from a book ordered via Amazon.com
Starred Review

This book is the story of the correspondence the author – a professor of Mathematics at Cornell University – carried on with his high school calculus teacher for over thirty years.

Here’s how he introduces the book:

For the past thirty years I’ve been corresponding with my high school calculus teacher, Mr. Don Joffray. During that time, he went from the prime of his career to retirement, competed in whitewater kayak at the international level, and lost a son. I matured from teenage math geek to Ivy League professor, suffered the sudden death of a parent, and blundered into a marriage destined to fail.

What’s remarkable is not that any of this took place – such ups and downs are to be expected in three decades of life – but rather that so little of it is discussed in the letters. Instead, our correspondence, and our friendship itself, is based almost entirely on a shared love of calculus.

It never occurred to me how peculiar this is until Carole (I’m happily remarried now) teased me about it. “You’ve been writing to him for thirty years? You must know everything about each other.” Not really, I said. We just write about math problems. “That is such a guy thing,” she said, shaking her head.

This Prologue is more honest than the subtitle. This is a book about awesome insights into and about calculus – clever, insightful, and challenging problems – and the beauty of math. It doesn’t say a whole lot about life lessons – and yet their friendship and personalities do shine through.

And there’s some lovely mathematics here, well-explained – at least I think so. I am sad to say that in many places, the math went over my head. I’m a former math major with a master’s degree in math who taught college math for ten years – but I didn’t remember things about infinite series and infinite integrals and other things discussed here. And I’m a little appalled with myself that I didn’t have the desire to go look up what I didn’t understand.

I am, however, wishing that this book existed when I was a young hot-shot calculus student. It would have showed me that math is not a finite subject and that even lofty math professors still find plenty of ideas to play with, going far beyond textbooks.

And yes, there are some lovely insights about the friendship between a teacher and his student. The correspondence began when Steven Strogatz started sending interesting math problems to his former teacher and then explained them. He shares an insight at the back of the book about what his teacher gave him:

He let me teach him.

Before I had any students, he was my student.

Somehow, he knew that’s what I needed most. And he let me, and encouraged me, and helped me. Like all great teachers do.

Hmmm. I do know of a young math major who just started at Virginia Tech. I think he’d be among the ideal audience for this book – reading about how, for those who love it, math never runs out of fascinating beauty.

Oh, and full disclosure: I was disposed to like this book because the author found my mathematical knitting posts and talked about them on Twitter. So now I’m happy to promote his book – both things are about the beauty of math.

stevenstrogatz.com
press.princeton.edu

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Review of The Kitchen Pantry Scientist Math for Kids, by Rebecca Rapoport and Allanna Chung

Children's Nonfiction Review, Mathematical, Starred Review 0

The Kitchen Pantry Scientist

Math for Kids

Fun Math Games and Activities Inspired by Awesome Mathematicians, Past and Present

by Rebecca Rapoport and Allanna Chung

Quarto Publishing, 2022. 128 pages.
Review written January 8, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review
2023 Mathical Book Prize Honor Book, Ages 8-10

Oh, this book is wonderful!

A lot of general books about math for kids have the same old stuff you’ve heard before, presented in a fairly random order.

This book is organized around twenty-two biographies of distinguished mathematicians, and then has a hands-on game or activity (some using templates found at the back of the book or on the accompanying website). The activities are very cool! I think I am going to print out the templates for the hexaflexagons. Some of the other activities include making a car with square wheels, a mancala game, a binary bracelet, and an alien city.

The activities are illustrated with clear photographs and have step-by-step instructions. The biographies take up one page, with a full-page illustration of the mathematician and symbols around them representing their work.

I loved that I hadn’t heard of a majority of the mathematicians presented, even though I’ve read a lot of books like this. I also loved that most were women and/or people of color. Because there are a lot of white men in math, and it was exciting to me to hear about others. And everyone chosen had done important work.

A really wonderful book about math that will make the reader want to explore and make and do.

dailyepsilon.com
Quarto.com

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Review of Calculating Chimpanzees, Brainy Bees, and Other Animals with Mind-Blowing Mathematical Abilities, by Stephanie Gibeault, illustrations by Jaclyn Sinquett

Children's Nonfiction Review, Mathematical, Science, Starred Review 0

Calculating Chimpanzees, Brainy Bees,

and Other Animals with Mind-Blowing Mathematical Abilities

by Stephanie Gibeault
illustrations by Jaclyn Sinquett

MIT Kids Press, 2024. 88 pages.
Review written December 18, 2024, from my own copy, sent to me by the publisher.
Starred Review

Here’s a book that tells a fascinating story about what goes into mathematical thinking – because it’s telling how scientists figure out how much of it animals are capable of.

First, they look at guppies. Yes, fish! Can guppies, with their tiny brains, count? Well, it turns out that when faced with two alternatives, guppies can choose the larger shoal to swim near (the better to not be eaten by predators). While explaining the experiments the scientists did, we learn about relative numerosity judgment, object-tracking systems, approximate number systems, and the numerical size and numerical distance effects.

Next up are hyenas. Researchers recorded the whoops of different hyenas and simulated a group approaching with hyena whoops. The hyenas would change behavior if there were more or fewer hyenas in the simulated group than their own group. They were wary with more intruders and aggressive with fewer. Along the way, the reader learns about subitizing and all the different things that happen when a human counts.

Chapter 3 is about a highly intelligent African grey parrot named Alex and how he even learned to use numerals and do simple math, even when the question was given with numerals. The super-interesting story of how they designed experiments for Alex to show he really understood what he was doing also teach the reader about equivalence (swapping four objects for the numeral 4, for example) and ordinality.

Next was a chapter about chimpanzees, and, yes, they can do calculations. Some experiments they described involved hiding groups of oranges in different places – and the smart chimp could pick the number that matched the total number of oranges. Even more amazing, when they put numerals in place of the oranges, the chimp still picked the correct total the very first time they tried it. This chapter covers ways humans – and chimps – do addition (though we don’t know which one this chimp was using) – counting all and counting on.

The final chapter was about honeybees. The scientists used sugar-water treats to train bees to choose the smaller number when presented with pictures of shapes – and the bees could do it even when the card had zero objects. Along the way in this chapter, the author talks about the concept of zero and how it did take humans a long time to grasp it.

And for all of the chapters there’s added value of an interview with the scientists who did the experiment plus a page for each chapter of related experiments you can try with a friend. The introduction and sections threaded through all the chapters include the story of the horse Clever Hans and how scientists use precautions to be sure they aren’t tipping the animals off.

I thought this whole book was completely fascinating, and it’s written in an engaging way that should capture the attention of the 9- to 12-year-olds it’s designed for. Really interesting stuff! You’ll gain insight on the thought processes behind the way you – and animals – do math.

mitkidspress.com

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Review of Leaves to My Knees, by Ellen Mayer, illustrated by Nicole Tadgell

Contemporary, Mathematical, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Leaves to My Knees

by Ellen Mayer
illustrated by Nicole Tadgell

Star Bright Books, 2022. 32 pages.
Review written December 23, 2022, from my own copy, purchased via amazon.com
Starred Review

This is a very simple picture book about raking leaves — which intentionally incorporates early math concepts. I read it for the Mathical Book Prize, though first thought of it simply as a nice story for Autumn. There’s a note at the back to parents and caregivers about the mathematics of measurement you’ll find here — and yes, it uses all of those concepts in a natural way that adds to the story.

The story is simple and lovely. A girl named Camille is bundling up with her Daddy and toddler brother to rake leaves. She plans to rake a pile of leaves that’s up to her knees.

The pictures of the family raking are joyful and bright. Each family member has a rake appropriately sized for them and makes a matching pile. The raking sounds they make are swush, swish, and sweeeeee.

There are obstacles to Camille’s plan — twigs and acorns clog up the rake. Her little brother steals leaves from her pile. And the wind comes with a big whoosh. But Camille progressively makes a pile that comes to her ankles, to the tops of her boots, and finally up to her knees — perfect for jumping into!

The complete package is a sweet story that will get your preschooler thinking about comparing and measuring.

ellenmayerbooks.com

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Review of The Probability of Everything, by Sarah Everett

Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Mathematical, Starred Review 0

The Probability of Everything

by Sarah Everett

Clarion Books, 2023. 326 pages.
Review written January 13, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review
2024 Mathical Honor Book, Ages 11-13

Kemi is eleven years old, and the world is ending in four days.

Or at least probably. There’s an asteroid heading toward earth, with an 84.7% chance of hitting us.

Kemi loves math and probability — especially the probability puzzles her Dad gives her. But now there’s an asteroid in the sky making everything purple. They have to leave their house in the “better” part of town and stay with her aunt and cousins. Kemi can’t believe her best friend is still going to school.

Kemi thinks about her family, including her new baby sister who won’t be born before the end of the world. She decides to make a time capsule to remember her family and everything they love most. But to find what her father will put in means doing his favorite things together with him.

And I can’t tell you what happens at the end of the book, but it did surprise me how things turned out. I liked the inclusion of the Monty Hall Problem in probability, the concise explanation, and the application that you should always pay attention to new information.

This book is about a girl coping with the end of the world by remembering what she and her family love most.

saraheverettbooks.com
harpercollinschildrens.com

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Review of Lemonade in Winter, by Emily Jenkins and G. Brian Karas

Contemporary, Mathematical, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Lemonade in Winter

A Book About Two Kids Counting Money

written by Emily Jenkins
illustrated by G. Brian Karas

Schwartz and Wade Books (Random House), 2012. 36 pages.
Review written October 4, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review
2023 Mathical Honor Book, age 5-7

Okay, here’s a super fun story that also teaches kids how to count money — exactly the sort of thing we look for in the Mathical Book Prize.

It’s a freezing cold day in the neighborhood. Everything’s covered with thick snow, and icicles are hanging everywhere. Inside, big sister Pauline gets what she thinks is a brilliant idea: Let’s have a lemonade stand! Her little brother John-John gets excited, too, and wants to help.

Both parents discourage the idea: “Don’t you see it’s freezing?” “Don’t you hear the wind?”

But the kids gather all the quarters they can find:

“Each time you get four quarters, that’s a dollar,” says Pauline.
“Four quarters, that’s money!” says John-John.

They buy lemons and limes for a dollar each, sugar for two dollars, and cups for two dollars. I like the way the picture shows the quarters laid out on the counter in front of each item.

“We have twenty-four quarters, and that’s six dollars,”
Pauline tells John-John as she counts out the money.

When they’re getting ready to go out, their parents are still discouraging, but they make the lemonade and limeade and set up their stand in the snow in front of their house. They’re selling for fifty cents a cup.

When no one comes, they decide to advertise, and sing a catchy song about lemonade and limeade for fifty cents a cup. (Perfect for reading aloud at storytime!)

Every time they sell a cup, Pauline explains the amounts to John-John:

Fifty cents, that’s two quarters,” Pauline tells John-John.
“Two drinks is four quarters — and that’s a dollar.”
She puts the money in a green plastic box.

They try entertainment — John-John does cartwheels. They keep singing their song. When there still aren’t many people about, they decide to have a sale. Now it’s twenty-five cents a cup. Then they add decorations. And keep singing their song.

When they empty both pitchers, Pauline diagrams out how many cups they sold for how many quarters and adds it all up. When she realizes they only made four dollars, she starts to cry. They started with six dollars!

But John-John has the perfect solution of what to do with their hard-earned four dollars.

After the story, there’s a page at the back with the heading “Pauline Explains Money to John-John.” There’s a wonderful explanation of pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollar bills.

I love this book because it’s a truly delightful picture book story, and it’s super good practice counting quarters and how much they’re worth. As well as introducing the concepts of profit and loss. But with a happy ending, despite the loss.

Tremendous fun!

emilyjenkins.com
gbriankaras.com
randomhouse.com/kids

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Review of How Do You Spend? by Cinders McLeod

Animal Characters, Mathematical, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

How Do You Spend?

A Moneybunny Book

by Cinders McLeod

Nancy Paulsen Books (Penguin Random House), 2024. 32 pages.
Review written October 31, 2024, from a book sent to me by the publisher.
Starred Review

How Do You Spend? is a perfectly pitched introduction to spending money for very young children.

Here’s how it begins:

Carrots are money in Bunnyland,
and Bun has saved a lot!

How will Bun spend her carrots?

The following spreads show how Bun spends her carrots. Each page has the format across the top, “Sometimes Bun spends…” with an adjective. The picture shows that day’s spending, and across the bottom you have in a child’s print: “Today I spent x carrots.” with the x filled in with the number spent. I appreciate that on every page, you can see and count the carrots spent.

I appreciate that the book starts with adjectives a young child is more familiar with – Fast (and a picture of Bun running with a shopping cart that is filling up) and Slow (and Bun taking a ride on one of those stationary rides in front of a grocery store).

But the book does go on to pairs like Expensive and Cheap, Ordinary and Exciting. And I like the pairs For Tomorrow (showing piano lessons that cost 2 carrots per month and 24 carrots for a year) and For Today (buying Bunny Hop tickets), and On Herself (ice cream), and On Others (flowers she gives to another bunny).

It’s just a super simple conversation-starter for a young child, ending with the question, “How do you like to spend?” So simple, but so engaging. Basically, you can talk about feelings or the physical act of spending or about numbers – or anything that enters a child’s head.

This book is part of a series. Our library already has one, and I’m planning to order the rest.

Moneybunnies.com
CindersMcLeod.com

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