Grapes Of Math (bkshelf) (Scholastic Bookshelf)

Posted on May 12, 2008 - Filed Under Paperback |

Binding: Paperback
Creator: Harry Briggs
ASIN: 0439598400
Manufacturer: Scholastic Paperbacks
Average Customer Review: (From 21 total reviews)
List Price: ~~$6.99~~
Amazon Price: $1.95 (33 new 11 used available)
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com:
How is it possible to count a complicated pattern of strawberry seeds or grapes on a vine or camel humps–in a blink of an eye? If children can open their minds to new ways of perceiving math, anything is possible! Greg Tang shows readers creative ways to use patterns and combinations of numbers to solve math puzzles quickly and effectively. Rather than laboriously counting 24 mushroom slices on a pizza, Tang suggests: “Let me give you some advice, / Just do half and count twice.” And in adding the number of dots on a fan: “Instead of seeing groups of threes, / Count by fives and it’s a breeze!”

Every two-page spread features cheerful computer-generated art by Harry Briggs, depicting rows of camels, beaches full of seashells, and vines laden with grapes. Tang’s witty little accompanying verses tickle the fancy even as they challenge the mind. Guided by hints in the verses, readers find solutions to each math riddle, by looking “askew” to find a pattern, subtracting in order to add, or adding numbers that have easy sums before clustering them to add in groups. Solutions and explanations are provided in the back of the book. With a little creativity and common sense, as opposed to formulas and memorization, Tang believes that all kids can do well in math–and have fun while they’re at it. Readers of The Grapes of Math are already ahead of the game. (Ages 6 to 10) –Emilie Coulter

Product Description:
Category: Math Skills”How many grapes are on the vine? Counting each takes too much time. Never Fear, I have a hunchThere is a match for every bunch!”Greg Tang, a lifelong lover of math, shares the techniques that have helped him solve problems in the most creative ways! Harry Briggs’s vibrant & inviting illustrations create a perfect environment for these innovative games. So open your mind-and have fun!”This…clever math book uses rhyming couplets… riddles…visual clues to help the reader find new ways to group numbers for quick counting…A winning addition!” –Kirkus

Customer Reviews

Great for upper elementary - beginner middle school by M. A. Jameson
This book is “cute”. It forces students to look at arrays of objects and find shortcuts for finding totals. I teach in the middle school grades and have this on my bookshelf for kids looking for something to read during a study hall. Might be a nice supplement to an elementary math program. My two year old son really liked the poems (of course couldn’t do the math) and the pictures were really interesting for him to look at.

Make math more fun? Check out this one! by J. A. Davis
First of all, I love the title of this book! When I saw it, I knew inside would be something equally clever and unique. Oh, was I right! This book is a visual and poetic feast, and yet, its focus is not on literature, but math. There are 16 riddles which challenge you to open your mind and solve mathematical problems by using a different way of thinking. Each riddle cleverly gives you some advice on how to solve it. For example, in “One Hump or Two?” you are asked, “Can you add the humps you see? Don’t just count them one, two, three…To help you find the right amount, group by fives before you count.” If you are really stumped, there is a handy Answer section in the back, complete with diagrams of each page as well as an explanation. The computer-generated illustrations are very visually appealing and the rhyming riddles are catchy. I love the titles too: Know Dice, Win-Doze, For the Birds, and Doggone It! to name a few. What a brilliant concept for a book! This is sure to make math easier to understand, not to mention fun for kids.

A good book for making math literacy facile by Michael Cammer
The Grapes Of Math by Gregory Tang and Harry Briggs has one genre of math problems presented in an amusing fashion with good art. The genre is patterns of objects with breaks in the patterns. The children are expected to look at the patterns as groupings or shapes to figure out the total number of objects without counting one-by-one.

This is a good book. The kids like it. The problems are amusing, even bordering on tickling. My only problem with this book is that an overview of methods for solving the problems should be at the beginning. But so what? There are a few ways to look at the problems and the kids actually sit down to do them without being pestered.

Let me repeat this: after the initial disappointment that I had purchased math books, on their own the kids actually sat down to do the problems without being pestered. If this isn’t an endorsement, then what is?

a book that makes math kids by Mary Leo
The Grapes of Math is a realization for all that math is all around us. An elementary student addresses many situations familiar to everybody that involve math. Her situations and problems are on-going and lead in many different directions, yet all still relative to math. The book is thought provoking and discussion inspiring. The book is most effective in teaching the relevance of mathematics in everyday life through creative riddles. Through its illustrations and imaginative word problems the book creates wonders and fun with every turn of the page for all ages. The Grapes of Math is a big success at motivating kids to see mathematics as a fun necessity.

My son got an excellent math start with this book. Since then, math problems get his attention rather than something to avoid. Now he is the top math student in his class. He often shows up on the Beestar math honor roll (a nice web site for math practice at Beestar.org). I think The Grapes of Math is the cornerstone of his achievement. I highly recommend it.

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