The Great Number Rumble
A plan to nix arithmetic + a math-crazy kid = an entertaining exposé on the wonder of numbers.

When the schools in Jeremy’s town ban math, there are loud cheers from the kids. Even his teachers happily toss their textbooks. But Jeremy’s best friend Sam, a self-proclaimed mathnik, sets out to prove that math is not only important, but fun.

In the chapters that follow, Sam reveals math’s presence in everyday places, including sports (types of triangles determine how a bike functions), art (artist M.C. Escher combined math patterns with imagination), even in nature (ants instinctively calculate dead reckoning—a navigation tool also used by astronauts).

Meanwhile, surprising sidebars offer Jeremy’s thoughts on weird concepts from chaos theory to cash prizes for new prime numbers. In the end, Jeremy, his teachers, and even the Director of Education have to admit that school minus math equals all sorts of trouble.

Complete with dozens of amusing real-life math examples, brief bios of seven famous mathematicians, and fun illustrations and diagrams, this innovative introduction to all things arithmetic will win over even the most math-phobic readers.

Awards
Finalist for the Science in Society Book Awards from the Canadian Science Writers’ Association.

Reviews
“To help students see the world (sometimes) in mathematical terms is not an easy endeavor ... highly recommend as an excellent resource for this endeavor. It is conceptualized as and ... will be experienced by the curious student reader as a gold mine for places in our lives in which mathematical ideas are ‘surprisingly hidden.’ Highly Recommended.” – CM: Canadian Review of Materials
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“ ... a useful resource to help make math an exciting experience ... ” – Quill & Quire