As a boy, Joseph D’Agnese grew up absolutely convinced that he was terrible at two school subjects: math and science. Lo and behold—he ended up making a career writing about both! For more than seven years, he edited a children’s math magazine for Scholastic, and was rewarded for his work by multiple Educational Press Association Awards. His children's book about the Fibonacci Sequence, Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci, is available in five languages worldwide, and as a classroom DVD. Blockhead is an Honor Book for the Mathical Book Prize—the first-ever prize for math-themed children's books. Joe’s work in science journalism has been featured twice in the prestigious annual anthology, Best American Science Writing.
I wrote...
Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci
By
Joseph D'Agnese,
John O'Brien
What is my book about?
The Fibonacci Sequence is legendary, and theoretically pops up in Nature, fine art, music, and even the stock market! But how did the famous number pattern get its name? Called “charming and accessible” by the New York Times, this picture book helps kids learn about the Medieval Italian mathematician who transitioned the Western world from I-II-III to the much simpler and elegant 1-2-3, unwittingly stumbling across the fascinating number sequence along the way. Activities and historical information in the book’s final pages provide a wonderful jumping-off point for further learning.
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The Books I Picked & Why
How Much Is a Million?
By
David M. Schwartz,
Steven Kellogg
Why this book?
Big numbers are just as amazing to kids as dinosaurs, and for the same reason. They’re so incredibly huge that they boggle the mind. This book helps kids comprehend big numbers using everyday objects and scenarios. If a million kids sat on each other’s shoulders, how high would they be able to reach? How long would it take to count to a million? Once they master a million, your kid will be well on their way to tackling quadrillions, nonillions, and, heaven help us, decillions!
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One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale
By
Demi
Why this book?
This is a classic mathematical fable that has been brought to life by several authors. Demi sets the story in India, and it’s marvelous to watch how quickly the numbers add up when you take a single grain of rice and double it day after day. The illustrations, inspired by traditional Indian art, are breathtaking, and may well inspire your child to create their own mathematical art. At the very least, they’ll start demanding more tasty rice dishes at the dinner table.
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Grandfather Tang's Story
By
Ann Tompert
Why this book?
Tangrams are ancient Chinese puzzles made of up to seven interlocking geometric shapes. As Grandfather Tang assembles his polygons, the animals he creates spring to life. You’ll be astonished to learn all the creatures you can make with a square, a parallelogram, and five triangles. Wooden or plastic tangram puzzles are easy (and inexpensive) to find online, but be sure to help your child make their own out of paper so they can get solid, hands-on experience seeing how they can transform a square into so many different shapes.
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The Phantom Tollbooth
By
Norton Juster,
Jules Feiffer
Why this book?
The world’s most bored kid travels to a strange land and discovers why learning is the greatest thing a human would ever want to do. Our hero, Milo, visits Dictionopolis and Digitopolis; meets Tock, a “watchdog” with clocks embedded in his sides; a wizard called the Mathemagician, and a 12-sided creature called the Dodecahedron. I still read this one at least once a year just to brush up on my ability to crack jokes and make puns.
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The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure
By
Hans Magnus Enzensberger,
Rotraut Susanne Berner,
Michael Henry Heim
Why this book?
This is a higher reading level than the other books on this list, but it’s SO worth it. A bizarre creature drags a math-hating kid on a transformative adventure in the world of numbers. It’s all here: prime numbers, number patterns, even my beloved Fibonacci. The illustrations are beautiful, and the writing lighthearted and lovely. The author is a famous German poet who, as far as I know, has only written this one for kids. We’re lucky he did.
