Multiplies the good times for young mathematicians.
A thorough introduction to understanding multiplication and division.
In this follow-up to Do Not Open This Math Book: Addition + Subtraction (2018), celebrated mathematician, writer, and actor McKellar returns to guide young readers through multiplication and division via a punny time-machine motif. Comic strips that introduce each section feature McKellar and her two companions (pessimistic Mr. Mouse returns and is joined by peppy Ms. Squirrel) traveling through humorous historical anecdotes that serve as jumping-off points for the math, sometimes in unexpected ways. The organizational flow is intuitive. Charts and visualizations are presented to help readers solve basic problems by understanding number relationships; then memorization tricks are given to help master times tables (some clever, some rhymed); finally, McKellar tackles more complicated concepts (the order of operations, or PEMDAS—with pandas; multidigit problems; and long division). The visuals throughout help in keeping the material so simple that even adults will be able to follow math pedagogy they didn’t learn but that’s currently being used in schools (and there’s a guide in the backmatter). The brilliant-through-simplicity textual explanations are easily accessible to independent readers, and the problem sets (“Game Time” sections in each chapter) are set up for readers to succeed. For extras and more math, McKellar points readers to the book’s website and to her more-advanced middle school book, Math Doesn’t Suck (2008).
Multiplies the good times for young mathematicians. (answer key, index) (Nonfiction. 7-12)Pub Date: June 30, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-101-93402-9
Page Count: 232
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In a word: Wonderful.
A spelling-bee champ welcomes readers to the zesty, awesome world of wording wizardry.
Whether you recite it from A to Z or in reverse, the alphabet’s cool, not to mention the words you can build by combining its letters in myriad ways. Such is the premise of this cheerful book that lists 26 empowering words, from Z to A—Avant-garde’s own initials—each beginning with a different letter of the alphabet (except X, for which extraordinary subs). Each word is a favorite of the teen author, who in 2021 became the first African American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The word list begins and ends with the author’s own names (Zaila, meaning “mighty, powerful,” and Avant-garde, “to be at the forefront”). On each page, the same word appears three to five times, printed in boldfaced type, alongside brief, thought-provoking, upbeat observations. The words cavort spiritedly on the page in hyphenated form (“L-A-U-G-H-T-E-R,” “K-I-N-D-N-E-S-S”), inviting readers to draw their pronunciations out slowly, as if to playfully savor their “feel.” A pithy quotation from luminaries such as Albert Einstein, Sitting Bull, and Shakira accompanies each word. Energetic, bold illustrations featuring dynamic patterns and characters diverse in skin tone, age, and physical ability greatly enliven the book. Readers should be strongly encouraged to create personal word lists and commentaries. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
In a word: Wonderful. (the origins of Zaila’s words of wonder) (Picture book. 7-10)Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9780593568934
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Memorable insights into the invisible world.
The skinny on the really tiny.
“Did you know there are more bacteria in your mouth than there are people in the world?” In an overview of “peculiar, pulsating creatures” that are too small to be seen with the naked eye, the appropriately named Mould keeps his eye on the ick factor as he dishes out basic facts about the viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, archaea, and “micro animals” with which we share the planet. He also describes how diseases are caught and spread, explains how our immune system works, and, backed by a closing timeline, covers the development of microbiology and antibiotics. All of this is parceled out in easily digestible portions and incorporated into a high-intensity visual mix of microphotos in cranked-up false color, a diverse array of human figures, and graphic images of melodramatically slavering, grimacing microbes. A debunked claim that babies are born free of germs is the only major slip in this introduction to millions of our closest neighbors, from cold viruses and beneficial (if fart-producing) gut bacteria to zombie ants and demodex mites that “walk around on our eyelids at night.”
Memorable insights into the invisible world. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 7-10)Pub Date: May 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4654-7028-7
Page Count: 72
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
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