Charlesbridge Math Adventures

The town of Cowlick turns out for a scale-drawing showdown when a tough-talkin' stranger challenges the local hero.

Rumpelstiltskin is back! This time he's making mischief with his multiplying stick. Can Peter unlock the secret of the stick in time to save the kingdom? Whimsical illustrations bring fun to multiplying whole numbers and fractions.

What are the odds? Ethan wakes up one morning to find a very strange cat stuck on his head. The cat, Odds, refuses to budge until Ethan wins a game of probability. Without looking, Ethan must pick out a dime from his coin collection or two matching socks from his dresser, or do something else improbable. If he doesn't, Odds is there to stay, and Ethan has a 100% chance of missing his big soccer game. A very improbable story about a challenging math concept.

Each week the residents of Chee take a portion of their bountiful crops to the wizard who lives on the hill. One week the Pied Piper decides that the wizard doesn't deserve his full portion. The next day two rabbits appear in a field. The day after that, there are two more rabbits. Each day the number of rabbits increases and they are eating everything in their path. It is up to a young girl named Amanda to save Chee's crops by figuring out the pattern by which the rabbits multiply.

A curious boy finds out what it's like to spend money before you have it. Can he somehow multiply the debt into a profit of millions?

Friday is Zachary Zormer's favorite day of the week. At least it is until he realizes he forgot this week's assignment, "Bring in something fun to measure." Tyler, the class show-off, brings a picture of himself from the newspaper. How can Zack top that when all he has to work with is a piece of paper he finds in his pocket? Week after week Zack takes on a different math concept (length, width, area, perimeter) with surprising projects including a mobius strip, a paper frame large enough to step through, and a light show that demonstrates how the sun heats the earth.

A ribbiting math adventure! After being banished to the Abyss of Zero in MULTIPLYING MENACE: THE REVENGE OF RUMPELSTILTSKIN, Rumpelstiltskin is back, and he's stirring up more trouble than ever. Together with his sidekick, a witch named Matilda, Rumpelstiltskin plots his revenge on Peter and uses his magical powers to divide the kingdom into frogs. Peter and his dog, Zero, must locate the Great Multiplier and find a solution that will break the Great Divide before Rumpelstiltskin has a chance to combine the two mighty math sticks. Can Peter once again save the kingdom in time, or will it meet a green and warty fate? Young readers will fall in love with this math adventure and learn all about dividing by whole numbers and fractions, as well as division rules for equations involving zero. Beautifully rendered illustrations will grab readers' attention as they learn basic math skills in a fun and inventive way. Back matter includes a summary of the basics of division.

Suppose that Alice had fallen into a wonderland where pasta was the only common denominator. In this clever parody of Lewis Carroll's classic tale, Alexandra Wright presents a mathematically aware Alice whose adventures are an appetizing combination of numbers, humor, and fun. With the Math Hatter dishing it up, the Adder using his noodle, and the Quantum Cat adding spice, arithmetic is full of pastabilities.

What does it mean to be equal? Mouse and her friends want to play tug-of-war but they can't figure out how to make teams that are equal. Nothing works until Mouse starts thinking mathematically. Wonderful illustrations capture Mouse and her animal friends from whiskers to tails.

In this new spin on the classic tale, Jack climbs the beanstalk and finds a giant friend. How can Jack and the giant do things together when they are such different sizes? Humorous illustrations clearly show their math problems and how they solve them.

Zero is lonely in Digitaria. He can't play Addemup with the other numbers, because he has nothing to add. What's a digit to do? Join Zero as he goes on a journey to discover his place.

For organic farmer Truman Worth, money does grow on trees. Readers calculate the changing value of his crop.