Mathemagic!
Number Tricks
- Publisher
- Kids Can Press
- Initial publish date
- Mar 2011
- Category
- General, Magic
- Recommended Age
- 10 to 14
- Recommended Grade
- 5 to 9
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9781554534258
- Publish Date
- Mar 2011
- List Price
- $17.95
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
An introduction to the magic of math that will engage even the most math-reluctant kid.
Mathakazam! With this book, math becomes magic for kids! The secrets revealed in Mathemagic will have kids outwitting everyone with their superior computational skills, mystifying friends by plucking secret numbers from their minds and learning the mathematical secrets of the ancients.
The book includes step-by-step instructions and explanations of how and why these number tricks work. As kids work their way through each trick, they will learn math concepts including calculation, multiplication, prime factors, the Nine Principal, the Binary Number System and more.
About the authors
Lynda's career as a mathematics educator began in Scarborough, ON, 33 years ago. Since then, her roles have been many: K?12 teacher, consultant, researcher, professor, columnist, textbook author, and collaborator on The Prime Radicals (a live-action children's television program also based on her Kingston Whig-Standard newspaper columns). The common denominator? Lynda's mission to dispel the myth that math is the bad guy!
Jane Kurisu is an illustrator whose books include The Sleepover Book and The Jumbo Book of Gardening. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.
Awards
- Commended, Mathical: Books for Kids from Tots to Teens, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI)
- Short-listed, Silver Birch Nonfiction Award, Ontario Library Association
- Winner, Best Books for Kids & Teens, Starred Selection, Canadian Children's Book Centre
Librarian Reviews
Mathemagic! Number Tricks
Can math be magic? It can if you learn the tricks in this book. A wide variety of tricks are presented starting with some that are simple to learn and others that require more skill to execute. There are complete instructions on how to perform each trick, including hints to make it work better with an audience, as well as easy-tounderstand descriptions of why it works.The mathematical principles are explained in a straightforward way, often with additional information and the necessary props. Any budding magician will enjoy the range of illusions that can make them seem mathematically knowledgeable. And this might lead to an interest in learning more math in the classroom.
Lynda Colgan has an extensive background in both math and education and it shows in the clarity and diversity of the tricks presented. Several of the tricks are based on the historical use of numbers. For example, the Mummy Math trick is based on multiplication as it was done in ancient Egypt and the Division Dowels are based on work done in France in the 1800s. There are also illusions based on complementary numbers, the 9 tricks, and on binary numbers.
The illustrations are integral to the book, often showing how the trick is done and adding interest throughout. Jane Kurisu has a talent for clearly indicating the important aspects of the trick, no wonder she has illustrated several how-to books. The folks at Kids Can Press have done it again!
In conjunction with the book there is a television series, The Prime Radicals. The series can be seen on TVOntario and in various other provinces.
Source: The Canadian Children's Bookcentre. Spring 2011. Volume 34 No. 2.
Mathemagic! Number Tricks
An introduction to the magic of math, this book will encourage even the most math-reluctant kid to take part in the fun. By learning the skills in this book kids will be computing answers at breakneck speed, guessing secret numbers tucked away in their friends’ minds and using the mysterious mathematical secrets of the ancient Egyptians.Source: The Canadian Children’s Book Centre. Best Books for Kids & Teens. Fall, 2012.
