Math Appeal: Mind-Stretching Math Riddles [Hardcover]

Gregory Tang (Author), Harry Briggs (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Mind-Stretching Math Riddles

NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Greg Tang challenges kids to solve problems creatively in this follow-up to MATH FOR ALL SEASONS.

In this book you'll learn to see
How very clever you can be.
We'll teach you tricks to help you add,
Some day in math class you'll be glad!

In this follow-up to MATH FOR ALL SEASONS, Greg Tang underscores the importance of four basic rules in problem-solving. Keeping an open mind, looking for unusual number combinations, using multiple skills (like subtracting to add) and looking for patterns will guarantee any child success in math. In MATH APPEAL, Tang continues to challenge kids with his innovative approach to math.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3-Bright, whimsical illustrations and clever rhymes introduce challenging exercises. The verses are not particularly memorable, but they present the problems-how squares on a kite can be added quickly or peas in a pod grouped-with hints for their solutions. "My kite flies high, my kite flies free,/My kite just landed in a tree!/I was busy counting squares,/Now my kite is stuck up there./How many squares? Let me see,/It's best to add diagonally!" Teaching guides appear at the back of the book, and not all of the strategies for problem solving are obvious. In a note, Tang states that his goal is "to encourage clever, creative thinking," and the questions posed do that. This book will engage readers' visual and auditory senses and may be enjoyed one-on-one or in classroom settings.
Edith Ching, St. Albans School, Mt. St. Alban, Washington, DC
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. Tang, whose upbeat math books include The Grapes of Math (2001), offers children another playful experience with arithmetic. It seems misleading to call the rhymes "riddles," as that implies some twist of humor in the answer. However, the colorful, digital artwork, which stretches across each double-page spread, creates a cheerful setting for the challenges. On the left-hand page, groups of objects are aligned in a way that will make counting them easier. On the right, a rhyme sets out the problem to be solved and hints at a path toward its solution. One example involves grouping pods of five or six peas into sets of eleven peas: "A pea would find it rather odd, / To be alone inside a pod . . . Can you count up all the peas? / With 11's [sic] it's a breeze!" Some children will find it quicker to devise their own strategies or just to count the objects than to figure out the hint and apply it to the solution, but those who persevere will learn a useful approach: grouping objects as an aid to counting them. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1st edition (February 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439210461
• ISBN-13: 978-0439210461
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,872 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Greg Tang earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees in economics from Harvard University and an M.A. in math education from New York University. Greg Tang has taught students of all ages, from kindergarten to college, and has used his problem-solving methods to create successful products and companies across many industries. He lives in Belmont, Massachusetts, with his three children. Greg's web address is www.gregtang.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Math Appeal" Appeals To Kids!, February 12, 2003

By 

J. Tam (Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Math Appeal: Mind-Stretching Math Riddles (Hardcover)

One of my favourite books to read to my students is The Grapes of Math by Greg Tang. And now along with it, is Math Appeal, the sequel. Once again, what I love best about Tang's books is that it provides strategies for students and it shows them that thinking does not need to be linear -- that thinking outside the box shows creativity. Tang shows that there are different methods to an answer and that the thought process is just as important. As a teacher, I'm looking for higher level of thought from my students, for creativity and for them to be able to explain their thinking. Each page in Math Appeal becomes a daily challenge for the students, who in turn eagerly attempt these challenges. We're looking forward to the next book!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Mental Math Challenge, August 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Math Appeal: Mind-Stretching Math Riddles (Hardcover)

Greg Tang gives us one more fantastic book. You will want to share this book with your "thinkers." I use this book with my fifth graders to help foster mental math skills. Tang teaches us how to look at groups of objects in an organized kind of way, and to add the objects quickly and efficiently. My son who is in kindergarten loves to look at the pictures, and challenges himself to add the objects. We have lots of fun!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun way to do math, May 21, 2008

By 

Stanley Cup "Hockey Mom" (Holly Springs, NC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Math Appeal: Mind-Stretching Math Riddles (Hardcover)

Like all of Greg Tang's other math books, he takes math problems, sets them to rhyme, and gets your kids solving math problems. He gives a clue in the rhyme to help kids organize their counting patterns, and then the counting begins. The art work in his books is vibrant, bold, and fun. For example, he has children counting chili peppers in red and green hues while the opposite page has a cactus mariachi band playing at sunset. He's got partying peapods and a singing clam to help you count star fish. He also throws in some facts about the items you are counting (example--"with little suction cups for feet..." used for the starfish or "they somehow know to make a V, instead of flying randomly..." for the geese) which add a nice touch to his book. This is a fun way to teach kids about math and groupings without doing rote math facts.