Member Reviews
As a child I loved a good mystery, particularly where the mystery was solved by a bunch of kids in a club. This one incorporated another love...puzzles! I hadn't read the first in the series (I thought this was the first until I Googled it) but that didn't matter. While this followed on from the last, there were little references that gave a bit of an overview of what happened without giving it all away if you wanted to go back and read it.
We follow the adventures of Jordan, who narrates the story and his friends as they prepare for a maths contest. But when the new member of their team, Catherine, doesn't turn up for school they're drawn into a mystery they need to use all their maths skills to solve.
This was a good story with a bit of everything. There were points to pause and have a go at solving the maths problems posed, mild peril and strong friendship. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
This book is designed for third to sixth graders and is part of a series.Some of the math might be a little much for some of the younger students, but overall that age will enjoy the book, while older middle school age could enjoy it as well. It really is an awesome book for youth that enjoy reading and math. I even enjoyed it and I am not a fan of math! So I think youth that don't like or get math would like as well as benefit from reading this book. It is designed very well and the illustrations fit very well with the book. The appendix at the end of the book is wonderful too, which has the answers to the puzzles, codes and other math throughout the book. This is helpful to ensure things go well and to check work. The story is a group of kids that work together to solve mysteries and math problems. They need to figure out and work on problem solving skills to figure things out. This time they are looking for another teammate for the Math Olympics too and who they pick for the team has a mystery around her. This book shows kids there is more to math than just numbers. This book has it all -- great characters, plot and math! This is a series we will be looking forward to reading anything new. Another great thing is this is a quick read, which for a chapter book in this age group is always a nice benefit to have in some books as a great option.
Another great book including problem solving and mystery. Children will enjoy the code-breaking and puzzles.
As a math teacher and math coach I am constantly looking for engaging materials for my students. I absolutely love the fact that this combines math and reading so students are developing two fundamental skills at the same time. The math was not too easy and was definitely something my middle school students could work through and enjoy. This was a great and cute story, great math knowledge, and an engaging work for my students.
This book didn't really grab my attention. The cover is better than the story. I had my 9 year old read it and they put it away after 2 chapters. Not worthwhile
A big thank you to NetGalley and Common Deer Press for sending me an advanced e-copy of the book.
I thought “A Sequence of events” was a great continuation to the “Prime-time Burglars”. I enjoyed reading the previous book for my love of math, and 2nd book is equally good, if not better. Moreover, I loved how the author incorporates various math concepts like the pigeonhole principle, factorials and Fibonacci sequence into the plot. I especially loved the example that Catherine gives Stephanie using flowers for the Fibonacci sequence. The author also gives a few challenging questions to the protagonists and the readers as part of the math competition. As an adult, it also took me sometime to properly analyse and solve them.
In terms of the plot, I found the plot of this book more intriguing than the predecessor. Catherine’s father has been kidnapped, and it is up to the gang to save them. It was so much fun to read as to how they use various math skills to save him! The only problem I had with the plot was that the way the kids confront the kidnappers and save Catherine’s father was done in a light-hearted manner. In reality, these kinds of situations are very dangerous and I felt that the author has not seriously highlighted the implications on how they probably shouldn’t have taken the matter into their own hands. Furthermore, In terms of the characters, I really like Catherine as a new addition to the gang. In fact, I thought she was a better character than Stephanie.
I feel this is one of the very few children’s novels that I am enjoying thoroughly as an adult. I cannot wait for third book in the series to come out! Overall, “The Math Kids – A sequence of events” is a great continuation to the Math Kid series. Readers of any age would enjoy reading this one.
Firstly I am a mathematics teacher to children from grades 4 - 9. I am constantly looking out for books which promote the enjoyment of mathematics and fight the gender stereotypes associated with it. I had high hopes that this book would do that.
The mathematics in the book was well explained and on an appropriate level for a younger child to grasp. I really enjoyed the dialogue that happened between the characters whilst discussing the problems. There is a small error in an illustration of the fibonacci spiral but other than that the math is all correct.
Despite having beautiful math and mathematical teachings, I would not recommend this book to my students. The book speaks about the 'bullies'. The characters in the math kids club constantly refer to them as stupid and have nick names they call the 'bullies' behind their backs. By doing this they are clearly engaging in bullying behaviour themselves. These interactions promotes a couple of horrible stereotypes:
- people who struggle with math are stupid
- people who bully others are stupid
- people who have a natural talent with math are picked on
The book attempts to dispel the myth that girls are worse at math than boys. It does a good job in speaking directly to that issue in one conversation, however this myth is still portrayed in some of the other interactions between the characters.
The characters were great and I loved that they used maths to solve the case. I loved this book so much and cannot wait for the third installment of this series. I am also going to read the first book in the series to see how the group came together.
Thank you to NetGalley and Common Deer Press for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley and Common Deer Press for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I requested this book because I had previously requested and read the first Math Kids Book and enjoyed it. This one was like the other one in that the Math Kids had to solve a real world problem using math. In this one they got a new team member and competed as a team of 4 in a math competition.
I enjoyed this one just as much as I did the first, It's such a fun book to read. I love that the author continues to add in little sections telling you to stop if you want to try and figure out the math problem for yourself before reading what the Math Kids do.
As I said before, this is a great book for kids who don't like math to be exposed to it in a fun way! I would definitely recommend you read this, or have your kids/nieces/nephews/grandchildren/etc. read it.
Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers fore sending me a copy of this book!
I wish I could read Math Kids again for the first time.
This book was an absolute pleasure to read.
Highly recommended for girls who love math, but often feel slighted. They will enjoy the new addition to the Math Kids, as Catherine and Stephanie have a delightful discussion on the issue.
Any kid (or adult) who loves math and logic will find extreme delight in this tale. Plus, the illustrations are so cute and strategically placed
This really is a math adventure, with lots of math tied into the story. The characters are great and believable, and the prose is just right for this book. Excellent!
I enjoyed this book but I do wonder which age group it is aimed at. I felt that the feel of the story was for younger children who in all likelihood would not understand the maths. (I am writing this from the UK). I hope that the story would carry the children with it and they would try the maths after finishing the story. I did like the explanations of the maths problems at the end of the book.
The characterisation, the settings and the plot did all seem realistic and in many ways it did not matter that this was an American school rather than one in the UK. The plot was fast moving and seemed plausible, however, I am as an individual beginning to feel that bullies in schools are becoming very predictable. They appear in almost every school book I read and they have a similar mindset as well. Maybe I am becoming too cynical in my long reading career. There is a feel of Louis Sachar and "Fuzzy Mud" or James Patterson and the "Middle School" series with regard to the bullies and how they never learn.
Great book for older elementary school age kids, especially those that enjoy math. This is a fun way to learn some new math concepts intertwined with the story. My only complaint is that the mystery part of it was too short, it was presented and solved too quickly. But I loved all the problem solving in the book.
I was so impressed with this story even though I found some of it to be a bit unrealistic. How many fourth-graders are so well versed in factorials and square roots that they can solve the initial problem given the math kids by their teacher?
In my wildest dreams, I cannot imagine such a fourth-grader. That said, I love the explanations given for each math problem the children face. Although they might only learn the most basic facts about factorials, this gives a good basis for better understanding in the future. The chapter on how math is seen in art is wonderful and this is the best explanation I have ever seen for the Fibonacci sequence.
I must read the first book in this series to see how the Math Club forms and look forward to another edition later this year.
I know it is a while ago but when I was growing up and going to school I loved maths. I was not much of a reader but adored Tom Sawyer and Emil and the Detectives.
The thing is, the best adventures for children seem to be where there is a mix of boys and girls like the famous five. Well the Math Kids are two girls and two boys all deferring to each other and recognising each other’s talents. Knowing the strength of their group is the sum of its parts. (Poor humour).
Well this is the story of these intrepid four who love maths and have the consequential skills to solve problems. Making them ideal suited as young detectives.
In this second instalment three become four as a fourth member is needed to enter a maths competition. That person is Catherine, a quiet girl who loves numbers, the clever aspects of maths and especially the Fibonacci Sequence and 55.
Her Dad is a maths teacher and for some reason leaves his daughter thinking maths is just for boys.
Now this is at odds with the book that uses this slur to demonstrate that there is equality in all things. Except perhaps the school bullies here, that seem to be all male losers.
What I liked especially is the overwhelming joy and wonderment in numbers. The enticing problems are expanded and their solutions explained. This is part of the story, where the illustrations back up this clever tale of quizzes, tests and calculations. The appendix goes on to explain some of the more intricate problems posed. While throughout the story time is given to have a go at some of the questions.
I believe this book will appeal to all young people who like adventures. Anyone who has an interest in maths will really enjoy the story and the constant references to calculations and problem solving.
The crime that is solved is very cleverly set up and the kids are fearless in their pursuit of those involved.
It makes numbers fun and being young the best time of your life as the Math Kids demonstrate.