A Fun Excuse to Stay Up Late (Bedtime Math)
by Laura Overdeck (Author) Jim Paillot (Illustrator)
Our mission: to make math a fun part of kids' everyday lives.
We all know it's wonderful to read bedtime stories to kids, but what about doing math? Many generations of Americans are uncomfortable with math and numbers, and too often we hear the phrase, "I'm just not good at math!" For decades, this attitude has trickled down from parents to their kids, and we now have a culture that finds math dry, intimidating, and just not cool.
Bedtime Math wants to change all that. Inside this book, families will find fun, mischief-making math problems to tackle--math that isn't just kid-friendly, but actually kid-appealing. With over 100 math riddles on topics from jalapeños and submarines to roller coasters and flamingos, this book bursts with math that looks nothing like school. And with three different levels of challenge (wee ones, little kids, and big kids), there's something for everyone. We can make numbers fun, and change the world, one Bedtime Math puzzle at a time.
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Publishers Weekly
Overdeck debuts with a just-irreverent-enough book based on bedtimemath.org, the phenomenally successful math education Web site she created. Instead of dividing her book by arithmetic operation, she uses ripped-from-cable-TV themes ("Exploding Food," "Sports You Shouldn't Try at Home") and breezy reality-based topics to tee up three levels of challenge: "Wee ones" (for those still counting on fingers), "Little kids" (simple arithmetic), and "Big kids" (bigger numbers, more complex problems). Whether Overdeck is asking readers to noodle on the Scoville scale of pepper hotness ("Habanero peppers score 350,000, and some peppers actually crack 1 million") or the speed of a cheetah ("They're zooming faster than the cars on a highway, and without ever getting a speeding ticket"), she shows that she knows her audience and loves her subject. Paillot (the My Weird School series) is a great choice for collaborator: called upon to illustrate everything from praying mantises to human cannonballs, he does it all with a good-hearted, goofy energy that should propel readers through the pages. Ages 3-8. Author's agent: Cathy Hemming, Cathy D. Hemming Literary Agency. (June)
Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
"[This program] may have the potential to make bedtime math problems as loved as the bedtime story. . . . Hats off to Laura Overdeck. This project is a winner. A simple idea that may have as much of an impact on improving the science, technology, engineering and math interest in our children as many other well-funded programs." —Wired/GeekDad
"We all know we should read to our kids. But even if bedtime stories are routine in your house, when's the last time you gave your kids a bedtime math problem? Probably never. And that's one reason American students might struggle in a future that requires mathematical literacy... Maybe if more children grew up doing bedtime math problems, those numbers would be different." —USA Today
"Besides stopping the bad-mouthing of our own math skills and making sure that we're distributing our numbers-related conversations equally among our sons and daughters, what can a parent do to increase "math awareness" in our everyday lives? How about a bedtime math problem? . . . [in Bedtime Math]They're meant to be solved in their heads, and to promote both giggles and mathematical thought." —New York Times Motherlode Blog
Laura Overdeck is the author of Bedtime Math and Bedtime Math 2: This Time It's Personal. Laura knows a thing or two about numbers. As a kid, she sat and memorized perfect squares for fun, before it was cool. And as a mom, she (along with her husband, John) decided to give their three children math problems alongside bedtime stories, and soon Bedtime Math was born. Laura holds a BA in astrophysics from Princeton University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. When not playing with numbers, Laura pursues her other interests, which include chocolate, wine, extreme gravity stunts, and LEGO Mindstorms. Find out more at bedtimemath.org.
Arithmetic
Mathematical recreations
