Hope Dalvay's Blog
October 1, 2023
Why I Wrote THE MULTIPLICATION RAP
My newest book, THE MULTIPLICATION RAP, is a bit of a departure for me. It’s an educational picture book featuring catchy rhymes to help kids learn the times tables. My other books, WELCOME TO CAMP FILL-IN-THE-BLANK and MY YEAR AS A SPACE CADET, are middle-grade fiction novels written with humour and heart that are intended to purely entertain.
So, why would I even want to write an educational picture book about math? Where did the idea for THE MULTIPLICATION RAP even come from? Necessity. Pure and simple. It was the summer of 2014, and in a couple months, my son would be entering Grade 4. He would be learning the times tables in school in the fall, and I was secretly dreading it. I knew he would be bored by the prospect of sitting down and memorizing all those multiplication facts, which, at the outset, look like a jumble of numbers.
So I wrote some catchy rhymes to help make studying the times tables less daunting, more approachable. Here’s one rhyme as an example:
3 groups of 3 monkeys swinging on some vines,
3 times 3 equals ____
When I first introduced this rhyme, I deliberately paused, waiting for my son to give the answer.
With a surprised look on his face, he said, “9.”
When I set up the next rhyme for him
3 groups of 4 elves building shelves
3 times 4 equals ______
he answered, “12.” It was a real boost to his confidence when he knew the answer.
In all, there are twenty-three rhymes, accompanied by amusing illustrations, in THE MULTIPLICATION RAP. The rhymes are for the 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9 times tables. The commutative property is also explained as a shortcut for learning. For example, if you know
4 x 6 = 24, then you already know 6 x 4 = 24. The rules for multiplying by 1, 2, 5, 10, and 11 are also presented.
But wouldn’t learning rhymes for the multiplication facts be MORE work? Wouldn’t it be easier just to learn the multiplication facts as they are? Well, some kids love numbers and are pumped about learning the times tables. Other kids, however, freeze at the very thought. So that’s when it’s necessary to devise other fun ways to learn. It would be lovely, of course, for kids to learn all the rhymes in THE MULTIPLICATION RAP by heart, but that’s not actually the goal. Ultimately, the purpose of the rhymes is to make learning the facts more fun and, therefore, entice kids to sit down and learn the multiplication facts through repetition. Reading the silly rhymes over and over (and over) again will help the multiplication facts sink in.
Unlike most picture books, THE MULTIPLICATION RAP isn’t meant to be read all the way through in one sitting. It’s meant to be read a section at a time, preferably a week or two before each times table is taught in class.
Repetition is the key to learning the times tables, but it’s nice if a bit of fun can be thrown in, too!
So, why would I even want to write an educational picture book about math? Where did the idea for THE MULTIPLICATION RAP even come from? Necessity. Pure and simple. It was the summer of 2014, and in a couple months, my son would be entering Grade 4. He would be learning the times tables in school in the fall, and I was secretly dreading it. I knew he would be bored by the prospect of sitting down and memorizing all those multiplication facts, which, at the outset, look like a jumble of numbers.
So I wrote some catchy rhymes to help make studying the times tables less daunting, more approachable. Here’s one rhyme as an example:
3 groups of 3 monkeys swinging on some vines,
3 times 3 equals ____
When I first introduced this rhyme, I deliberately paused, waiting for my son to give the answer.
With a surprised look on his face, he said, “9.”
When I set up the next rhyme for him
3 groups of 4 elves building shelves
3 times 4 equals ______
he answered, “12.” It was a real boost to his confidence when he knew the answer.
In all, there are twenty-three rhymes, accompanied by amusing illustrations, in THE MULTIPLICATION RAP. The rhymes are for the 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9 times tables. The commutative property is also explained as a shortcut for learning. For example, if you know
4 x 6 = 24, then you already know 6 x 4 = 24. The rules for multiplying by 1, 2, 5, 10, and 11 are also presented.
But wouldn’t learning rhymes for the multiplication facts be MORE work? Wouldn’t it be easier just to learn the multiplication facts as they are? Well, some kids love numbers and are pumped about learning the times tables. Other kids, however, freeze at the very thought. So that’s when it’s necessary to devise other fun ways to learn. It would be lovely, of course, for kids to learn all the rhymes in THE MULTIPLICATION RAP by heart, but that’s not actually the goal. Ultimately, the purpose of the rhymes is to make learning the facts more fun and, therefore, entice kids to sit down and learn the multiplication facts through repetition. Reading the silly rhymes over and over (and over) again will help the multiplication facts sink in.
Unlike most picture books, THE MULTIPLICATION RAP isn’t meant to be read all the way through in one sitting. It’s meant to be read a section at a time, preferably a week or two before each times table is taught in class.
Repetition is the key to learning the times tables, but it’s nice if a bit of fun can be thrown in, too!
