G is for Googol: A Math Alphabet Book

What I really like about this book is that it's a math smorgasborg. My kids and I are using this book through the summer, doing a page per day or two, or more if something intrigues us. Because of the alphabetical theme, you get exposure to concepts that wouldn't normally fall together in a math curriculum. And the entries are fun. Plus each letter offers a list of other math topics beginning with that letter that you can explore on your own.

This is such a good book. I bought it for my 10 yo son and he reads from it often, and then comes to me with all sorts of sophisticated tidbits about math, that I'd either forgotten or never known! It's a very gentle way of getting to know complex mathematical theories, and its explanations are clear and succinct. Although alphabet based, this is not for small children, I would not give it to anyone younger than 9. I'm very happy with this book and would happily recommend it. We're going to get Q is for Quark next.

David Schwartz is brilliant! In G is for Googol, he brings together a wealth of mathematical information for strong independent readers. A is for abacus, F is for Fibonacci, and K is for Konigsburg! If you don't know how to pronounce rhombicosidodecahedron, don't dispair! Schwartz will show you how, and his entertaining and informative book will keep inquisitive kids enthralled for hours!

At her Montessori preschool, my daughter loved only math "work," mastering the binomial and trinomial cubes early on. At 5, as we began homeschooling, her reading level exploded and she fell in love with words. Unlike "hands-on" math, she had no interest in arithmetic or pages of problems. She's a highly gifted, visual-spatial learner who also reads rapidly and at a high level. Now, at 8, I present her with "literary math," books with mathematical concepts and lots of words and pictures. This book is one of the best examples of that genre. When I handed it to my daughter, she eagerly began flipping through the pages, then scanned the table of contents. "V is for Venn diagram!" she said happily. "I LOVE Venn diagrams!" She read everything about them and studied the amusing pictures in detail. Then she began to describe aspects of her life to us in Venn diagrams. So it has gone with the rest of this book, which I highly recommend.

My son is seven and working his way through 5th grade math. This book reviewed some concepts for him and introduced him to others. He thought it was fascinating! There's a lot of information packed into these pages, and the author delivers it all in a very entertaining manner. Don't let the ABC picture book concept fool you, this book was designed with the help of 4th-6th grade students and teachers. I give it five stars!