A Gebra Named Al

by Wendy Isdell

Julie hates algebra—until she meets a gebra named Al. In this Student Book, Julie, Al, and the Periodic horses journey through the Land of Mathematics, where the Orders of Operations are real places and fruits that look like Bohr models grow on chemistrees. Wonderfully written and a joy to read, it's full of math and science basics made fun and accessible.

Genres: Mathematics, Childrens, Chemistry

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was forced to read this in algebra class and it is without doubt one of the worst books I have ever read. Don't get me wrong, I love science; I am in graduate school getting my masters in biology. Somehow I feel like this book was degrading, possibly 8th grade was too old to be reading it, but I just felt that the author thought the readers were stupid. The plot seemed cheep and just a way to connect bad science puns. I actually feel I would have preferred to read a textbook, at least then I would have learned something.

[Arlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written by Wendy Isdell when she was in the eighth grade. Julie hates algebra and falls asleep at her desk while trying to understand why she keeps getting the wrong answer to a simple problem involving order of operations. She wakes up and sees a shadowy being who says he is an imaginary number. He disappears through a portal and she follows it into a strange land where she meets a zebra, or at least it looks like a zebra but on closer examination there are equations as the stripes. The gerba is name Al. He agrees to try to help her get home. The have to travel to find the Mathematician's castle and the book is the story of their travels through a land of math and science.

[Erin Stuhlsatz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given that it's a book about algebra and science, written by a high schooler, it's quite good. However, I was hoping that it would do a better job of incorporating math and science into real life, even in the way of the Phantom Tollbooth, but it felt pretty contrived to me. Very cute, though, and good explanations of isotopes!

[Cloux · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read. It would be great to use in a science class that deals with the periodic table.

[Annie Pham]

I learned the elements of science

[Sav · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know why, but I woke up thinking about this book the other night. Took me forever to remember the title.

[Kelli Chlum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plot could be a little tighter, but cute for kids who love math/science

[Elzbeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

So a girl who's terrible at math is transported into the world of Mathematics by an Imaginary Number. She travels with some Period Table horses and a Gebra named Al to help get her out.

It was kinda fun, the heroine is a bratty little thing who was never apparently taught how to say thank you. It was left open ended, but a good ending.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good adventure story to share with reluctant math students. It's especially fascinating to let students know that the author started writing this story as an entry for a writing contest when she was an eighth grade student!

[Baylee Rubeck · Rating 1 out of 5]

you know that tiktok sound “it is so bad i want to give it a 0, but that’s not possible so i give you a 1”. that it how i feel abt this book

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creative use of math and science in a fictional story but not overly educational.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute little book with just enough math and science in it to make it worth reading for a parent, but not so much that it turned off my son. It was written by a kid, so you have to take much of the plot and character weakness with a grain of salt. It's a fun little adventure through another land that reminded me of a cross between The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Phantom Tollbooth, albeit not up to the standards of those (two of our favorites!).