My Quick Thoughts: If you have been reading my blog long enough, you know I enjoy reading Math related books. And this one is perfect, and to the point!

I love the concept, the illustrations, the explanations, the .. well, everything about this book. Using historical facts and stories, examples on how to use math in real life (from how to count your cows to how to host the perfect pizza party), as well as a gazillion other fun and challenging things, this book shows how (and why) math is used everywhere.

It is, if I have to come to the point, a gem of a book! Like infinitely wonderful, and shows readers that math is fun and important with vibrant illustrations and an engaging format. A totally great giftable book for all ages.

Source: Review copy from Netgalley

I love this. Isn't every kids question "what's the point of this" in math class. The illustrations help to make each use of math engaging for readers.

Become more mathematics-literate!

Truly an excellent, interesting book that puts our mathematical reasoning in anthropological context, which began in a very empirical way. Birds and mammals, including fish, have been shown to have the ability to estimate numbers to survive. The ability to count is innate in apes and scientists consider it to be a basic skill for life. So we cognitively have this ability to count, it should not be difficult to learn mathematics, we can make it fun for our children and give it an attractive context when it comes to the need to solve certain problems of daily life, in this way children expand their personal autonomy.

For whatever reason, teaching mathematics has been unappealing to many children, some are overwhelmed, and in some places it is one of the subjects with the highest rate of school failure. This book is a way to give context, to return to the practical sense by which humanity conceptualized them in the first place. Although over time humanity has developed a more sophisticated and abstract mathematical system, it is possible for any child to gradually climb in understanding.

The book provides very good information for the educator to develop a didactics that are closer to the innate empirical ability of children to learn, have visual support and develop manipulative materials. In this way, a multisensory mathematics laboratory can be created, where children can learn by "doing", manipulating and experimenting by playing, which is one of the keys to effective learning. Thus, 3 groups of teaching materials can be created: those that help to learn concepts, those that develop logical abilities and those that consolidate knowledge.

My sincere appreciation to the Publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review the book

Kids often want to know why they have to learn math, because they think they won't have to use it when they are older, or that they can just use a calculator as an easy shortcut. This book takes a look at the history of the various aspects of math, from counting to probability to shapes and more. And then it tries to apply it to how we use it today in a way that kids should be able to understand. For example, one part discussing proportion and percentages shows how you can apply that knowledge to getting a bargain at the store. Quite practical, right? And the patterning section gets into code breaking, which is going to also appeal to some kids. There are even some fun activities to try out to explore the different concepts.

I love history and I love math, so this book is a perfect combination for someone like me. It has an overwhelming amount of information in it. It is not going to appeal to all kids, though. They will likely have to already have somewhat of an interest in history and/or math to actually pick this up and start paging through it. But they can learn a lot if they do.

Thank you to the publisher for fulfilling my review request via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am just amazed as almost anyone else that I voluntarily read a book about math and the second part that amazes me even more is the fact that I did somewhat enjoy it. What madness is this?

The book as such explores on basis what is the importance of math and why math is important in our dailies lives. As such the book breaks down the subject by exploring five sections: Numbers & Counting, Shapes & Measuring, Patterns & Sequences, Data & Statistics and Probability & Logic in depth for a children's book.

Each section starts with a blurb on the importance of the particular section then the following pages cover various subjects in easy-to-understand writing. The two-page spreads gives an introductory paragraph followed by a illustrated step-by-step if exploring origins or various aspects that help contribute to the topic on the page. Furthermore some of the pages also offered exercises that readers can complete to learn more while the answer question is in the back although jumbled up.

The writing itself is mostly simple to understand and follow while certain parts I found quite informative such as the reasoning for Roman numerals and how to count on your fingers Babylonian style. The only thing I found some complaint was that some of the formulas didn't seem to be quite as clear to me so I wouldn't know whether children may be able to learn from them as much either since of the lack of clarification.

Finally I did enjoy the historical timeline in the back although one of the pages was a bit on the crazy side due to it started from the bottom with the older dates and then went up so in my digital reading I was thrown for a loop.

All in all this was an interesting book and quite informative while it will be a good addition to classrooms or homes where math is being focused on. Furthermore you can make it to where you read it all in one sitting, just take one section at a time or just a few pages.

***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review***

"Why bother learning this if we won't ever use it?" This title is a great tool to grab the interest of reluctant math learners. It can also serve as a jumping off point to help find subject areas that pique a particular child's interest.

Colorful pictures, clear graphics, and competent formatting make this resource easy to use. It's not meant to be read cover to cover, but there's something here for anyone, especially middle school kids.

I receive an advance copy of this book an exchange for my honest review.

Finally, a book that answers the question that most kids ask. And it isn't cagey about it. Starting with basic counting and going all the way up to theoretical mathematics, the authors explore the purpose of math. We get the history of math - different systems of counting and measurement, the role of zero, that sort of thing. Then, starting with arithmetic we walk through the practical uses of math. What is geometry for? Why might we need to use variables in every day life? If I'd had this book in middle and high school I might have taken my math studies more seriously. This one is a must have for every collection - personal and professional

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This book has amazing art and colors! I wish this book would have been around when I was a child tbh this was a great book and I don't care much for math lol

As a non-math lover myself (hey, librarian here) I was impressed by this book and all that math really does in our lives. I especially appreciated the historical references to how ancient people used math. This book could definitely make a math teacher swoon!

What's the Point of Math? is a new graphic format introduction to some basic mathematical concepts and history. Due out 28th Jan 2020 from Penguin Random House on their DK imprint, it's 128 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

This is an engaging and logically formatted book which will appeal to middle grade readers. There's a short introduction which includes information about the history and usefulness of mathematics as well as a little info on dating systems (BCE and CE), as well as a 2 page spread with how mathematics ties into everyday life and is used for situations as disparate as music and medicine. This intro leads seamlessly into chapters covering counting and number systems, shapes and area/measurements, patterns, data and statistics, and probability and logic.

The concepts are useful and the colorful graphics and accessible language make them understandable and interesting. The art is simple and supports the text well. There are a fair number of humorous drawings (an alien showing base-8 counting smilingly shows us its 8 tentacles for example) which will certainly appeal to most kids.

This would make a super choice for a classroom or school library as well as a fun read for middle school readers (circa 9-12 years). Math and sciences are so vital and holding readers' interest is key. This is a fun book which might help show reluctant students how math can be very useful and fun.

Five stars.

What adult hasn’t heard kids complain that math was boring and memorizing formulas since they’ll never use them. It’s the same story uttered by most students. This book points out the history of math and it’s slow progression over the centuries that was a real eye opener and one every parent should read in order to have ammunition against such negativity. On the other hand, both parents and teachers need to show how relevant math is to our everyday lives and not just some archaic, boring subject. This book is chock full of interesting tidbits that cleverly showcase that math is very useful, especially if you ever go on a game show!
I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for my volunteer review.

This is a really fun book that uses history, exercises and colorful illustrations to teach kids how numbers, shapes, probability, sequences, prime numbers, etc. work and help people accomplish all kinds of interesting things. Kids will learn lots of math concepts and also see how these can be used to make codes, predict comets, measure the earth, tell time and much more. This would be a great book to help kids play with math and have fun with math concepts.

I read a temporary digital ARC for the purpose of review.

In order to get an opinion based on the age range this book is written for, I read through it with my 11-year-old. As a historical book, this is a great resource as it tells of the complete history of numbers and the progress of mathematical discoveries. Both my son and I agree that the title is a bit deceptive though. We went into the book, per the title, with the expectation of something exciting that would draw kids into a greater appreciation, if not love of, math. However, that did not happen. Instead of encouraging kids in what they could do with math it was more a historical listing of the things already done because of math.

What's the Point of Math? by DK is an amazing resource for any child, parent, or teacher to have on their book shelf. My 10 year old loved going through this book with me and was fascinated by all of the illustrations. We loved that we could use this book as a math and history lesson in one! What's the point of Math has helped my child find a love for math that they never knew they had!

Such a fun book - my kids loved it! This is such an important topic and I loved how engaging the book was. Will definitely be purchasing this one when it is released.

First, as a math teacher, I fell in love with the concept of this book. I loved the cover. It is so colorful and full of illustrations that instantly draw you in. The title is another perfect aspect as that is the question we face every single day with our students. As I was reading through this I couldn't help but be drawn into the age friendly illustrations and language. It was full of so many interesting facts and arguments for the "point of math." The book was very user friendly and suitable for so many different audiences. I absolutely adored this book!

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for an ARC.

This is a FABULOUS book! It highlights the major content areas of math as well as people who were influential in that area. It a book that shows Mathematics are fun. Its a bit of a history of math, which is a great way to promote understanding apart from problem solving.

I would recommend this to elementary teachers who teach math as well as those who are exposed to math regularly.

What’s The Point Of Math is another amazing book from DK. This book is fun book to flip through learning about math from history to today. It’s choke full of fun facts, history, and examples. We will definitely be using this a recourse in outer homeschool math. First, I will have my son read “How To Use Prime Numbers.” I think this will help him understand better and his to relate it in real life.