APPLES NOT ORPLES

Wordplay adds a droll element to this very basic introduction to a fundamental algebraic concept.

In cartoon illustrations, a marmalade cat, a koala, and other cute animals invite viewers to count up small groups of common items and then add them together. Things quickly turn tricky when the items aren’t the same sort. Do three bikes and four scooters add up to…seven “BOOTERS”? “NO!” howls the critter chorus. “BIKES and SCOOTERS don’t mix!” Well then, might one orange and two apples be three “ORPLES”? And would five tomatoes, two carrots, and three carrots be “the same as 10 CARATOES?” “NO!” Plainly, all the carrots stay carrots and the tomatoes remain tomatoes. Likewise, as Stephens explains in smaller type at the end, algebraic expressions can’t be combined if they’re different kinds. The author gets no further than that basic principle but does close with a suggestion for parents that this lesson will serve as a familiar starting point when readers encounter algebra again in high school (or perhaps even sooner). Younger audiences will enjoy the shouting and silly talk, even if only proto-mathletes actually grasp the lesson.

Offers readers something to chew on, if only a mathematical morsel.