The I Hate Mathematics! Book

Since I am a person who HATES math!!! This book appealed to me and is broken down into a simple math language that was easy to understand. The book has a natural connection to math by using everyday situations from walking on the sidewalk to eating. It has a humorous tone and math definitions are defined throughout the book.
Only downside to this book would be the large amount of information (pictures, words, math terms) that exist on each page.

I read this book in my childhood and now once again. I always liked the other book, "Math for Smarty Pants" much better, and still do. That book contained a bit of cute, quirky storytelling, with the reappearing characters in the comics as well as the Pig Eyes. This book, while just as quirky and does take math in a new light, doesn't have the hook the first had. Don't get me wrong, it was a great read and I'm sure it would do wonders for reluctant math students, but it is certainly not the best Marilyn Burns has to offer. The other thing, and there is a note in the back about it, is the lack of answers. Many questions are posed to problems that just can't really be solved at the given time, but you're left with no answer, not even a show more hint. This is quite bothersome.

Rating: 2.5/5 show less

This book is about math, obviously. Its content is light and comical with actual mathematical lessons disguised on each page. There are lots of hands-on activities and open-ended questions for children to experience and work through. It is an overview of some important mathematical patterns easily explained for children to understand.

Cute book! I will admit, it is dated (1975) and the language is proof: “slip me some skin,” “outta sight,” and the reference to the TV show “Search for Tomorrow” of which I have never heard. But the idea of making math fun and relate to children is great. There are riddles and cartoon illustrations that help get the point across. Kids will learn without even realizing it. I thought I would just show more read through the book so I can write the review and move on. However, some of the activities and questions compelled me to try them – I couldn’t go on to the next page without working through some of the problems!

An obvious extension would be for the students to get in small groups and choose some of the problems and activities to work through and share what they learn to the class. Another extension is to have them choose an area of mathematics they do not particularly care for and find a way to teach it so that other students would be interested. Research and learning more about that area may be necessary. They can present their lesson any way they want. show less

Great informational book set out to change your perspective on math. With over one hundred puzzles, games, experiments, you can't help but grab a pencil and paper to try them out. The goal of this book is to show anyone at any age math can be fun!
I had to grab this book because most of my life I've made the famous quote, "I hate math!" I found this book a bit overwhelming at times with the pages being filled from top to bottom and every millimeter in between with words, pictures and numbers. It may be a bit much for younger children to try and absorb; however, the cartoons and diagrams may just be the items that hold their attention. I will share this with a few elementary school teachers that I call my "mentors", and share with my show more sons ages 11/14, but I don't see it being added to my collection.
As a classroom extension, the opportunites are endless. Pick a page and you have an addition to the math class for the day. Many of these pages could be used as "free work, downtime, extra credit" type of hand in assignment. The students could be assigned one page a week as the "challenge" of the week math problem or experiment. show less

What a fun book with a catchy title page. All of those screaming kids are calling your name to open up and see what all of the fuss is about. Like many math books, this one contains a plethora of different material that can be explored in many sittings. This would be a great book to use with a class of children. I envision assigning one section per child and having them create a presentation for the rest of the class. For example, page 51 shows a strategy for estimating dots. A student could present their idea of how to estimate and explain their results. Maybe they will count the number of dots in a small sample and multiply by how many samples? Maybe they will count an entire line and multiply the number of lines?

This book could also show more be used for group work. Students could discuss their group’s section before presenting to the entire class. In my opinion, good math books are timeless. The material in this book is the same today as it was in 1975; therefore, this is a good book. Check it out! show less

This book is for nonbelievers of all ages. It was written especially for children who have been convinced by the attitudes of adults that mathematics is (1) impossible (2) only for bright kids (3) no fun at all anyway. This book says that maths is nothing more than a way of looking at the world and that it can be relevant to everyday life (Street Maths) and fun (How many sides does a banana have?). Hundreds of mathematical events, jokes, riddles, puzzles, investigations and experiments prove it!
Offbeat Books are a series of small books about big ideas, written and designed for children and adults together. They come from a group of Californian teachers, writers and artists who get together to work on producing stimulating material of a show more slightly offbeat nature for children. They believe learning only happens when it is wanted: that it can happen anywhere and doesn't require fancy tools. This book and others in the series are dedicated to anyone who thinks so too. If you enjoy this book you might also like:
Word Works
Blood and Guts
Beastly Neighbours
Thinking Science show less

This includes some less painful ways to approach math, and many fun applications. It's funny too.