Great Number Rumble: A Story of Math in Surprising Places Book

An illustrated exploration of math and math concepts used in everyday life, including sports, bicycles and nature. This introduction to all types of arithmetic uses sidebars to explore chaos theory, new prime numbers, bios of mathematicians.

Ann JoslinCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information. - School Library Journal

Gr 4-6
When Jeremy and Sam's school district decides to eliminate mathematics from the curriculum, most of the students and teachers are thrilled. However, Sam is devastated and takes on the Director of Education. The debate highlights Sam's knowledge of the use of mathematics in the design of buildings and bicycles, in tessellations and other art forms, in animation, in music, in patterns in nature (Fibonacci numbers), magic, etc. Interspersed with the story line are one-page biographies of Pythagoras, Archimedes, Hypatia of Alexandria, Sophie Germain, Charles Ludwig Dodgson, Srinivasa Ramanujan, and Andrew Wiles. Sidebars with Jeremy's thoughts on chaos theory, cash prizes for new prime numbers, laws of probability, and palindrome numbers add to the information. Full-color cartoons, diagrams, and photos appear throughout. Classroom teachers could use this book to introduce new concepts and relate them to everyday objects to help students understand their significance. It would supplement math sections in school and public libraries.