Math learning can be so much fun especially when it is contextualized in circumstances that relate to our everyday life. When kids see the direct application of mathematical thinking in their actual life experiences they become more engaged and motivated to embrace it. The collection of books we curated for you today conceptualizes math learning within experiential scenarios and situations that will both trigger and challenge kids’ mathematical thinking skills. We only included books with the most positive user reviews and higher ratings. Of course the selection is still subjective but we hope you like it. Enjoy
1- Math Curse, by Jon Scieszka (Author), Lane Smith (Illustrator)
‘Did you ever wake up to one of those days where everything is a problem? You have 10 things to do, but only 30 minutes until your bus leaves. Is there enough time? You have 3 shirts and 2 pairs of pants. Can you make 1 good outfit? Then you start to wonder: Why does everything have to be such a problem? Why do 2 apples always have to be added to 5 oranges? Why do 4 kids always have to divide 12 marbles? Why can't you just keep 10 cookies without someone taking 3 away? Why? Because you're a victim of the Math Curse. That's why. But don't despair. This is one girl's story of how that curse can be broken.’
2- Math Potatoes: Mind-stretching Brain Food, by Greg Tang (Author), Harry Briggs (Illustrator)
‘Greg Tang is back with his bestselling approach to addition and subtraction: problem solving. By solving challenges that encourage kids to "group" numbers rather than memorize formulas, even the most reluctant math learners are inspired to see math in a whole new way! Math Potatoes is full of Tang and Briggs' trademark humor, wit, and extraordinary creativity. Tang has proven over and over that math can be fun, and this new addition to his acclaimed series of mind-stretching math riddles is sure to be another hit.’
3- Math Fables: Lessons That Count, by Greg Tang (Author), Heather Cahoon (Illustrator)
‘Greg Tang has built his career as an author and math missionary on the power of creative problem solving. Now, through winsome "fables" about concepts that are relevant to the very youngest math learners -- sharing, teamwork, etc. -- Greg encourages kids to see the basics of addition and subtraction in entirely new ways.’
4- How Much Is a Million? by David M. Schwartz (Author), Steven Kellogg (Illustrator)
‘Ever wonder just what a million of something means? How about a billion? Or a trillion? Marvelosissimo the mathematical magician can teach you! How Much is a Million? knocks complex numbers down to size in a fun, humorous way, helping children conceptualize a difficult mathematical concept.’
5- The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure, by Hans Magnus Enzensberger (Author), Rotraut Susanne Berner (Illustrator), Michael Henry Heim (Translator)
‘Hans Magnus Enzensberger is a true polymath, the kind of superb intellectual who loves thinking and marshals all of his charm and wit to share his passions with the world. In The Number Devil, he brings together the surreal logic of Alice in Wonderland and the existential geometry of Flatland with the kind of math everyone would love, if only they had a number devil to teach it to them.’
6- The Greedy Triangle (Brainy Day Books) by Marilyn Burns (Author), Gordon Silveria (Illustrator)
‘In this introduction to polygons, a triangle convinces a shapeshifter to make him a quadrilateral and later a pentagon, but discovers that where angles and sides are concerned, more isn't always better.’
7- Eat Your Math Homework: Recipes for Hungry Minds (Eat Your Homework) by Ann McCallum (Author), Leeza Hernandez (Illustrator)
‘This collection of yummy recipes and fun math facts is sure to tempt taste buds and make you hungry for more. Explore patterns in nature while you chomp on Fibonacci Stack Sticks. Amaze your friends with delicious Variable Pizza Pi! Wash down your geometry assignment with some Milk and Tangram Cookies.’
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