The Grapes Of Math by Gregory Tang Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Grapes Of Math
Book Review: MAT 146 Review
Summary: 3 Stars
(...) I read The Grapes of Math to a resource room class, during their math hour. The kids thought that the riddles were silly, but did not really understand the concept, that the riddles had answers to them. There were grade levels first through fifth in the class. I think that the kids would have enjoyed the book more if they were up to speed with the math terms in the book. When I was reading the book, I had to stop and explain the math vocabulary for reach riddle. I enjoyed the book, but I would use it for an older set of students.Book Review: Many ways for teachers to implement this great book!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Grapes of Math targets elementary students around the ages of 8-12, yet can be used in a simpler way with even younger children as an introduction to counting. There are sixteen colorful counting problems in the book, which are accompanied by a poem that provides a hint at counting the objects using a different method. Children are instructed not to count individual objects in the regular manner - "1...2...3..." - but rather to open their minds to new ways of perceiving the problems. Readers are encouraged to use creative methods, such as finding patterns, grouping, and using advanced problem-solving skills. These strategies direct students to solve a problem faster and more efficiently, and greatly incorporate the use of addition, subtraction and multiplication.A teacher could use The Grapes of Math in many ways. One could post a problem each day, or week, on the board for children to solve at the beginning of a math lesson, to get students thinking mathematically, and on a higher level. Instructors could also break a class into pairs or small groups and photocopy the sixteen different problems, passing out a different problem to each pair/group. The children could have an allotted amount of time in which to come up with creative ways to count the objects on the page. After the pair/group has found several ways, they could vote on the most efficient method. Then the students could take turns sharing their solutions with the class. Furthermore, a teacher could share the book with his/her class, taking suggestions for the various problems and solving as a whole-class group. As a follow-up activity, children could design their own "counting problems," making colorful pictures with accompanying poetry to give their readers hints - such as the layout of The Grapes of Math. Then the children could trade with a partner and solve their partners' work.
I would highly recommend The Grapes of Math to future teachers. There are so many ways to implement this book, and it helps children who are learning multiplication a great deal. I enjoy the pictures, the poems, the creative solutions, and the challenges! I whole-heartedly rate this 5 STARS!
Book Review: Mind - Opening Math
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great book! The illustrations are vibrant, eye-catching, and really appealing! The rhyming riddles are clever and challenging! The poetic wording of the riddles and the great illustrations make this math book fun and interesting. This book truly is the "mind-stretching" book it claims to be. It does a great job of getting kids to open their minds and approach problem solving in a whole new way. They are encouraged to move beyond simply counting one-by-one and try finding patterns to count by. It is useful for introducing the concept of multiplication to them or for them to practice multiplication skills they already have. I read this book to a third grader, who is just being introduced to multiplication. At first, he had a hard time with the riddles, wanted to count one-by-one, and didn't understand how tolook for patterns. Going over the solutions in the back helped him understand how he could have approached the riddle. After awhile, he started approaching the riddles differently and stopped trying to count everything one-by-one. When he finally got the hang of it, he was really excited. His face lit up in a big smile and he couldn't wait to try more riddles. By the end of the book he really was approaching problem solving in a new way. This was quite an accomplishment for a kid who struggles with math!
I highly recommend this book!
Book Review: Mind-Opening Math, review by: Pima Community College student
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great book! The illustrations are eye-catching and vibrant! The rhyming riddles are very clever! Together, the great illustrations and poetic riddles make for a very interesting and fun math book! It is a great book for introducing multiplication to children or for practicing the multiplication skills they already have. It also encourages children to "stretch" their minds and try a whole new approach to problem solving. Rather than counting objects one-by-one, the book urges children to look for patterns and count by easy to handle groups. There are even clearly explained answers in the back, in case you have a hard time figuring it out on your own.I read this book to a third-grader, who struggles in math and is just being introduced to multiplication. For the first couple of riddles he kept trying to count one-by-one and the answers in the back were helpful in showing him a different approach. After awhile he started finding patterns on his own. Once he realized he was "getting the hang of it," his face lit up, he got really excited, and wanted to try some more riddles. By the end of the book he was approaching problem solving in a whole new way and he was really proud of himself!
I highly recommend this book!
Book Review: More Math Please...
Summary: 5 Stars
Greg Tang and Harry Briggs have taken the stuffiness and boredom out of math with their very creative and inventive book, The Grapes of Math: Mind Stretching Math Riddles. Word problems, told in rhyme with hints to help with solutions, combined with detailed, vibrant illustrations, challenge youngsters to look at old counting problems in new ways. Instead of formulas and memorization, Tang and Briggs show kids to think in innovative ways. Techniques include looking for patterns, regrouping numbers, combining multiples and subtracting first, in order to add. With an answer key and easy to understand, common sense explanations at the end of the book, kids 6-10 won't even know they're solving math problems. They'll think they're just having FUN!