MATH POTATOES

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Readers who have graduated from THE GRAPES OF MATH will find new, more advanced math challenges.Greg Tang is back with his bestselling approach to addition and subtraction: problem solving. By solving challenges that encourage kids to "group" numbers rather than memorize formulas, even the most reluctant math learners are inspired to see math in a whole new way! Math Potatoes is full of Tang and Briggs' trademark humor, wit, and extraordinary creativity. Tang has proven over and over that math can be fun, and this new addition to his acclaimed series of mind-stretching math riddles is sure to be another hit.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Familiar friends escort readers back to school. The team behind The Grapes of Math offers a seventh title, Math Potatoes: Mind-Stretching Brain Food by Greg Tang, illus. by Harry Briggs. Rhyming couplets once again help kids understand math through strategies such as grouping in patterns. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal Review

Gr 3-6-Tang's seventh entry in a series that includes The Grapes of Math (2001) and Math-terpieces (2003, both Scholastic) is another winner. Each spread includes a poem consisting of neatly rhymed couplets that first set a scene ("I gaze into the evening sky,/Think great thoughts and wonder why") and concludes with a hint or suggestion as to how the objects on the opposing page might most efficiently be grouped to arrive at a sum ("When you look up to the heavens,/Try to think in groups of sevens!"). There are no overt patterns so that, as Tang says in his author's note, children are challenged "to combine numbers in smart ways, not just obvious ways." The book concludes with clear diagrams and succinct explanations providing the solutions. Briggs's computer-generated art is crisp, clear, and delightfully quirky. For example, "Sock Hop" features a loafer on guitar, work boots on drums, and a high-heeled pump on keyboard. Puzzle-loving kids will pick this up on their own, and teachers could pair it with Jon Scieszka's Math Curse (Viking, 1995) for an energizing departure from the standard math lesson.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Gr. 3-5. The seventh in Tang's math series, which includes The Grapes of Math (2000), this picture book uses all kinds of visual tricks to demonstrate how to make arithmetic faster and easier. On each double-page spread, a rhyming verse has fun with a variety of subjects. Most rhymes are about foods--including pickles, potatoes, and flat-jacks --and the bright, computer-generated pictures are as playful as the words. This goes far beyond the usual simple counting book. The games are complex, the visuals are tricky, and although the rhyme seems straightforward (Instead of adding row by row / Columns are the way to go ), readers must think carefully about adding, subtracting, and multiplying. Imagine eight in every row / Just subtract and you will know. The spacious, illustrated answer pages at the back explain the puzzles, which will be fun for classroom use as well as for kids trying to find shortcuts in the counting jungle. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2005 Booklist

Horn Book Review

In Tang's seventh picture-book attempt to make math entertaining, sixteen rhyming riddles (answers provided) encourage readers to group numbers in order to add them more efficiently. Adults may bristle at liberties taken with syntax to clinch a rhyme (""Her recent birthday I forgot""), but readers will be absorbed by Tang's puzzles and by Briggs's velvety smooth digitally rendered art. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Book Review

The seventh in a line of verse math-terpieces that began with Grapes of Math (2001), this offers 16 problem-solving shortcuts that involve grouping numbers or items. Tang not only provides answers and methods in a closing key, he is generous with hints. Opposite digitally worked, color-coded arrays of anywhere from 30 to 148 stars, sea shells, spiders, pickles, the titular potatoes, playing cards and the like, his verses open with a pair of lively introductory couplets, set the problem with a third, then suggest an approach in the fourth: "Can you add up these poor souls / For whom the bell already tolls? / In groups of ten you'll hear their cries, / 'Please don't turn us into fries!' " Even numerically challenged readers can count on coming away with some time and labor saving techniques for toting things up. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.