Math for Smarty Pants

Brown Paper School Book

by Marilyn Burns, Martha Weston (Illustrator)

Text, illustrations, and suggested activities offer a common-sense approach to mathematic fundamentals for those who are slightly terrified of numbers.

Genres: Mathematics, Nonfiction, Childrens, Education, School, Parenting

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 23, 1982

About the author

Marilyn Meinhardt Burns is a mathematics educator and the author of over a dozen children's books on mathematics.

Reviews

[Steven van Doorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much that's been written about education, but a pet theory of mine is that education can snowball. If you can teach a child to read in a way that doesn't make reading terrible, they are likely to read themselves for fun. There is something similar for math, if you can make it fun, there is so much mathematical intuition that can build up just from playing around with concepts. As a child, this book hit that sweet spot. It was never "assigned" to me as a homeschool lesson, it was on the bookshelf and I would open it up in my free time and play around with the various math games and tricks. And it accidentally gave me confidence and experience with concepts that are helpful to this day.

[Allegra S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book as a kid! Upon re-reading I found it really dry and the 'tricks' not very entertaining. But as a kid I thought it was the best, so to each their own!

[Gauss the Panda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about math. So many fun problems, mathematical ideas are well explained, and the characters in the book are fantastic. I especially like the exclamation explanation for factorials.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great addition to any classroom library and can also be used as "filler" for when kids finish activities early. In fact, because the problems are so fun and engaging, I bet many students will try to finish their work early to get to this. A lot of the problems throughout this book can also be used on a math homework menu--to give students a choice in what they want to work on.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sophie loves this book. She uses it for some light reading before bed. She is full of all sorts of math concepts come morning and surprises me all the time with things she has learned from this book.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book as a kid

[Saralyn]

Good activities for my math-inclined but workbook averse kid. :)

[Ashlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The term "smarty pants" has always been cute in my opinion. This book is great to bring into the classroom. I faintly remember this math book as a kid, it makes math fun with interesting problems, examples, and activities! Could introduce some of the activities into your cirriculumn.

[Runa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it, great way to teach children the basics of math with some easy-to-remember tricks

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good ideas for patterns, tricks, fun and learning I can use for that Eureka class this Fall.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun read. I enjoyed it, although most of it is above my students' ability levels. There's a few neat things in here. I used this to develop a couple things for my puzzle curricula.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 8-year-old loves it; has great game ideas

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this math book as a kid, read it several times. It makes math fun with cool problems, examples, and activities.

[DDog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes! I finally found it! I loved this book when I was homeschooling as a kid and I've been trying to think of the title for weeks with no success. It's packed full of fun stuff for math fans.

[K.Q. Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, quick read. It's a bunch of math puzzles and stories that make math look a whole lot less intimidating than you thought.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dad got this for me. I loved it so much I shared it with my teacher—and never saw it again…

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is a entertaining way to learn/practice math!

[Rebecca]

I only vaguely remember this book from my childhood days, but I think I really liked it!

[Michael Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Changed my life! Buy it for your kids, it's absolutely fantastic.

[Mary Christensen-cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEST math book - let's teach our kids math around real problems!

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Something to come back to throughout the year.