Customer Reviews

Fractals, Googols, and Other Mathematical Tales

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I discovered this book in a homeschooling catalog (FunBooks.com). The good review in there enticed me to buy it for my then 6 year old, who is a voracious but difficult to please reader. He devoured it, loved it, and insisted that I read it too!

The fascinating topics include decimals, magic squares, Fibonacci sequence, tangrams, the abacus, and much more. Some of the stories seem a little silly to me, but then that is probably the appeal for kids. :)

This is one of those books that you must own rather than borrow from the library because it covers such a range of topics that your child (and you!) will want and need to refer back to it every so often. In fact, I will likely buy all the other books involving Penrose the Cat if they are as educational and fun as this book is.

This book explores a wide range of mathematical concepts, including many of the traditional "fun" topics like Fibonacci numbers. For each topic (covered on two large pages typically) there is a simple story written to be accessible to even young children, followed by a franker and more mature mathematical discussion. This two part approach makes the text accessible to a wide audience while having a solid mathematical foundation. The articles serve as a solid foundation to spark student interest in further exploration, or stand alone as interesting mathematical shorts. Some of the topics will have direct curricular applications, including articles on the real number system and the transcendental number pi. This is a wonderful text and is suitable for elementary through high school students.

Theoni Pappas has written several books of mathematical 'tales' including the well-know Penrose books.
"Fractals, Googols and other Mathematical Tales" includes a total of 22 topical tales.

The table of contents helpfully includes information as to the topic discussed in that tale, as the chapter titles, 'Dr. Spacemath', for example, do not always indicate what the topic is!
Unfortunately, if you already have the Penrose books, you will find that at least 9 of the chapters in "Fractals" are repeated from the Penrose books. Several of these have been condensed and it seems as though the author's commentary has been added to some in a purple side-bar in keeping with the style of the rest of the book.

While the Penrose books are clearly written for and to those new to the world of mathematics, "Fractals" includes small-print, purple side-bars that seem to be written to a parent/teacher.
As in the Penrose books, there is a section in the very back that includes solutions to puzzles and challenges posted in the book.

We are big fans of the Penrose books and Theoni Pappas, and while 'Fractals' does indicate topics in the table of contents, I wish that all these books had a good index to make it easier to find tales and activities that are relevant to a student's current topic of study.
I was also disappointed that so many of the tales in "Fractals" are repeats from the Penrose books.

However, if you do not already have Penrose, this would be a great book to introduce you to Pappas' unique approach to mathematical tales.

Amusing, entertaining. Math should be exciting and not boring textbook drills! Get creative, get exploring!

C=pi*d. That means the diameter has to be **multiplied** by "three and a little bit" in order to be equivalent to, or wrap around, the circumference of the circle. It takes "three and a little bit" diameters to get around the circle one time, not one diameter to get around the circle three and a little bit times. The engineer was right! Other than that, it was still a pretty good book, though. If you're a teacher with an older class, you can see if they can spot the error.

I read this book and really loved it! It puts mathematical concepts into a very useable form. It is a great book to use with kids and start discussions regarding mathematics.

I'm not sure the intended audience of this book. The pictures are too minimal for early elementary, with content far above them. The grades for whom the content is appropriate would probably find the stories unappealing. They didn't catch my interest either. To its credit, the book has some interesting sidebars and activities for teacher use. My resources would not have been lacking if I'd passed on this purchase.

This collection of short stories with a mathematical point would make an excellent primer for middle school students. Most stories are at most two pages in length and introduce a mathematical topic using language and diagrams that advanced elementary students can understand.
Some of the topics are:

*) Pancake world, a story similar to the classic "Flatland."
*) The history and value of the decimal point
*) The history and value of zero
*) The Mobius strip
*) The Fibonacci numbers
*) Magic squares
*) Tangrams
*) The story of pi

I strongly recommend this book for use as supplementary reading at the late elementary and middle school levels. Bright and motivated students will love it.

I am not sure what R. Krapf "Engineer" (below) was thinking when he/she wrote his/her review...

The circumference of a circle (C) is calculated as 2 * pi * r (or pi * 2 * r)

Since r is the radius and 1/2 the diameter (d), that means C = pi * d

Since pi is about 3.14, that means the book is correct. The diameter of a circle would wrap around (the circumference of) the circle "3 and a little bit"

I believe the quote about the circumference and diameter is worded incorrectly. We all know that the size of the diameter and circumference are proportional (hence pi), but the diameter would never wrap around a circumference 3 and a little times! This is obviously false because the circumference is larger than the diameter. The circumference would wrap around the diameter 3 and a little times. Please check your books to determine if the quote is correct in R. Krapf's review - if so, then the book is WRONG!