Stun friends and family members by guessing secret numbers and doing painless long division. Dice and card tricks and finger multiplication are among the fascinating tricks potential mathemagicians will learn to perform. But Colgan goes beyond the ordinary by giving an in-depth, easily understandable explanation of the math behind each trick, as well as any history that might be applicable, too. Not only will readers learn how to multiply large numbers in their heads, they will learn why this trick works and that the early Egyptians used the very same method. Prime numbers, Napier’s bones, division dowels, the binary number system and factoring are just a few areas they will explore. Kids won’t stop with just learning the tricks—the emphasis is on performing them, and the author does a great job of giving tips for a magical performance that is not only believable but entertaining as well. Backmatter includes a glossary, but the language used in the definitions is more advanced than that used in the text, and the terms used within the entries are not always themselves defined. Kurisu’s illustrations emphasize the performance side of mathemagic, showing potential performers how to successfully set up or follow through with specific tricks. Colgan makes math cool, and that speaks for itself. (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55453-425-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2011
Weaving together architectural, engineering and Native American history, Weitzman tells the fascinating story of how Mohawk Indian ironworkers helped construct the sprawling bridges and towering skyscrapers that dominate our urban landscape. The book begins with a brief but informative history of the Kanien'kéhaka—People of the Flint. Leaders in establishing the League of the Iroquois, a confederation of Indian nations in the New York region, Mohawks had a longstanding reputation for their sense of tight-knit community, attraction to danger and love for physical challenge, qualities that served them well when hired in the late 1800s to do the most arduous work in railroad and bridge construction. With the advent of the skyscraper, Mohawks possessing agility that seemed gravity-defying worked hundreds of feet above the ground. They were not immune to tragedy, and the author discusses in detail the collapse of the Québec Bridge that killed 31 Mohawk workers. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs that capture the daring spirit of these heroic workers, the concise, captivating account offers great insight into the little-known but considerable role Native Americans played in our architectural and engineering achievements. (glossary, bibliography, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59643-162-1
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Flash Point/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2010
In a large, handsome format, Tarnowska offers six tales plus an abbreviated version of the frame story, retold in formal but contemporary language and sandwiched between a note on the Nights’ place in her childhood in Lebanon and a page of glossary and source notes. Rather than preserve the traditional embedded structure and cliffhanger cutoffs, she keeps each story discrete and tones down the sex and violence. This structure begs the question of why Shahriyar lets Shahrazade [sic] live if she tells each evening’s tale complete, but it serves to simplify the reading for those who want just one tale at a time. Only the opener, “Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp,” is likely to be familiar to young readers; in others a prince learns to control a flying “Ebony Horse” by “twiddling” its ears, contending djinn argue whether “Prince Kamar el Zaman [or] Princess Boudour” is the more beautiful (the prince wins) and in a Cinderella tale a “Diamond Anklet” subs for the glass slipper. Hénaff’s stylized scenes of domed cityscapes and turbaned figures add properly whimsical visual notes to this short but animated gathering. (Folktales. 10-12)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-84686-122-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2010
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