Mathical Book Prize

From the Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute (SLMath)

Educators: Join the Mathical Readathon as a classroom anytime this year!

Second Graders Create Video Reviews of 2019 Mathical Books

Enjoy these video book reviews created by 2nd graders at Madeira Elementary School, in the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio. The students picked their favorite 2019 Mathical Award Winners and Honor Books to share with the world! Their teacher and videographer is Mathical Books Selection Committee Member Fran Wilson. 

 

Press Here
By Hervé Tullet
2019 Mathical Honor Book

Reviewed by Julie, Sarah, Annie, and Claire

Get ready for some fun! This is a fun book about dots. In this book it‘s like the author is talking to you. You have to shake, press, rub, and blow in the book. But you even have to do math! You have to count the claps and presses and even the dots! The red, yellow, and blue dots keep multiplying and moving across the pages. We recommend this book for preschool and up.

Nothing Stopped Sophie: The Story of Unshakable Mathematician Sophie Germain
By Cheryl Bardoe, illustrated by Barbara McClintock
2019 Mathical Award Winner

Reviewed by Joie and Avery

Do you want to learn about Sophie Germain? Sophie Germain was a girl who loved math. But the problem was girls weren’t supposed to study math! Still, nothing stopped Sophie! Sophie studied math. She even figured out the formula to predict the pattern of vibrations. She won the prize from the Royal Academy of Sciences for this formula. We wouldn’t have the Twin Towers, the Eiffel Tower, modern skyscrapers, or lengthy bridges all over the world if Sophie didn’t figure this math formula out. The end pages are full of numbers, problems, and math formulas. The illustrations show the story of Sophie’s life and how she was surrounded by math. We recommend this book for 1st graders and up.

Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13
By Helene Becker, illustrated by Dow Phumiruk
2019 Mathical Honor Book

Reviewed by Ryder, Olivia E., and Andy

5... 4… 3… 2… 1… Blast off! Did you know that if it wasn’t for Katherine Johnson that many of the space missions would not have been possible? Katherine Johnson loved doing math. She worked hard to become a mathematician and get hired at NASA. This was a challenge at times because she was black and also a women. Apollo 13 launched on April 11th but on the third day of the mission there was an explosion in the space ship. Katherine had to calculate how to get the astronauts back home safely. We like the end pages because they show Katherine doing math. We like the illustrations because they are colorful. We recommend this book for 1st grade and up!

3×4
By Ivan Brunetti
2019 Mathical Honor Book

Reviewed by Andrew, Henry Q., Henry H., and Maggie

Time for math homework! In the book 3×4 you’ll learn how to make different sets of 12. It is a comic book. The book shows the kids in the class drawing sets of 12. The beginning end pages show the problem 3 x 4. Read this book to find out how Anne Marie figures out how she will draw her picture to show 3 x 4. We recommend this book for 1st grade and up.

100 Bugs! A Counting Book
By Kate Narita, illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman
2019 Mathical Honor Book

Reviewed by Brooklyn, Lucas, and Christopher

Buzz! Buzz! Do you want to come count bugs with us? This book is about counting bugs. It shows how to make combinations of 10 with bugs and plants. The book shows five different combinations of ten. Then it asks how many bugs you’ve counted. 50! Five more different combinations of bugs and plants are shown and it explains how all the tens can count up to 100! It has fun rhyming text. The end pages show bugs during the day and at night. The back matter has information about all of the plants and bugs that are in the book. We recommend this book for kindergarten and up and anybody who loves to count!

When Sophie Thinks She Can’t
By Molly Bang
2019 Mathical Honor Book

Reviewed by Bijou and Q

I can’t do math! This is what Sophie thinks. When Sophie goes to school she had to make a rectangle with 12 little squares. She thought she couldn’t because she can‘t build math puzzles. But the teacher taught a special word … YET! Sophie tried and finally figured out the rectangle problem. We like the illustrations because they show Sophie’s expressions and we also like them because they are colorful. The end pages at the front of the book show a tangram and pictures of shapes with their names. The back end pages show what you can make out of the tangram shapes. The book teaches kids to think they can! They may not be able to do some kinds of math yet but they will! We recommend this book for kindergarten and up.

The Girl With a Mind for Math: The Story of Raye Montague
By Julia Finley Mosca, illustrated by Daniel Rieley
2019 Mathical Honor Book

Reviewed by Piper, Evie, and Dominick

Raye Montague was just seven years old when she saw her first ship. It was heaven! She wanted to become an engineer. In this story Raye never gave up on her dream. Even though Raye was black and a girl, she kept on believing that she could be an engineer. She became the first woman to design a ship by a computer. She did it in just over 18 hours! The book has rhyming text and colorful illustrations that tell the story of her life. We like that it has a timeline in the back of the book. The book shows Raye using math to design the submarines. The book teaches that girls can do math! We recommend this book for 1st grade and up.

Crash! Boom! A Math Tale
By Robie H. Harris, illustrated by Chris Chatterton
2019 Mathical Award Winner

Reviewed by Wade, Sofie, and Olivia M.

1 – 2 – 3 – 4, Elephant stacked the blocks as tall as himself. Oh no! It crashes and boom! This book is about an elephant that builds towers with blocks. This book teaches about measuring. Elephant tries to think of different ways to stack blocks to measure himself. He learns that if you put the blocks flat it takes more blocks than if you put them upright. The illustrations are colorful. Kids will love to see the cute elephant’s expressions and hear the crash and boom. We recommend this book for preschool and up.

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