Dover mathematics series and Math Girls

[Space station]

Has anyone used any of the books in the Dover mathematics series? Are they accessible/readable? Are there any that you recommend? My 10 year old likes to read about math and mathematicians, but gets bogged down if there is too much math that she hasn't had yet (naturally). She is half way through Fred beginning algebra and on chapter 4 of AoPS intro to algebra.

 

I am also interested in getting her the Japanese series "Math girls talk about equations and graphs," "Math Girls," and "Math Girls^2". Has anyone read these, and do you recommend them?

 

I'd be interested in any other recommendations you have. We occasionally take breaks from math problems and just read fun books. When she was younger the Sir Cumference series was a hit, and she loved "The Number Devil" last year.

 

Thanks for your thoughts.

[quark]

Kiddo really liked The Moscow Puzzles and somewhat liked the Lewis Carroll puzzles (both under the math recreation series). I think there are a couple by Martin Gardner that he likes as well.

 

We also have a number theory one somewhere that he was perusing. I'd suggest starting with Moscow Puzzles. Good luck!

[Mike in SA]

Dover covers a huge swath.  Lots of classics are reprinted by Dover after they've lost their luster.  All the Gardner books are keepers, and still hold strong to this day.  Some of the higher math in Dover form can be very inaccessible to the lay reader.

 

I still have Dover "History of Mathematics," because it honestly is still the best mathematics history I have seen.  I started reading it when I was a young child (5 or 6?), and learned a lot of math from it.

[Dmmetler]

We have a lot of Dover math books-I agree with the history of mathematics, and we have a lot of Martin Gardner books, some on graph theory and number theory, and just a wide range. Having said that, a good part of the books in my DH's grad math program were published by Dover (if they didn't have yellow covers), so that tells you just how deep some of their books go. In general, Dover reprints things that are older and out of mainstream publication, in nice, well made paperback editions, so there's that range in every single set of books they publish (plus beautiful coloring books, paper dolls, and stickers).

[Space station]

Thanks, I will start with the puzzle books recommended and the History of Mathematics. The Dover website had a Math and Science club that I registered for to get 20% off, making these even more affordable.

[Dmmetler]

Dover runs frequent specials, once you're on their mailing list.

[Kathy in Richmond]

Just searched my shelves for Dover books that the kids enjoyed and came up with these:

 

Martin Gardner - My Best Mathematical and Logic Puzzles

Laurence Smith - Cryptography: The Science of Secret Writing

Norvin Pallas- Games with Codes and Ciphers

Ogilvy & Anderson - Excursions in Number Theory

Mathematical Fun, Games, and Puzzles -- Jack Frohlichstein -

& the Moscow Puzzles book mentioned by quark :-)

 

Non-Dover books that might appeal:

aha! Gotcha! and aha! Insight! - Martin Gardner

Mathematicians ARe People, Too: Stories from the lives of Great Mathematicians - Reimer & Reimer

Flatland - Edwin Abbott\

A Gebra Named Al - Wendy Isdell

The Joy of Mathematics (and lots of other books) by Theoni Pappas

 

Math for Smarty Pants & I Hate Mathematics Book - Marilyn Burns

1000 PlayThinks: Puzzles, Paradoxes, Illusions, & Games - Ivan Moscovich

Probability Games and Number Games - Ivan Moscovich

From Zero To Infinity - Constance Reid

[Space station]

Thank you, that is a great list!

[Guest tonygonz]

Regarding the Math Girls books—I highly recommend them, but then again I translated them so my opinion is somewhat biased. ;-)

 

Your daughter would likely enjoy parts of Math Girls Talk About Equations and Graphs, but also would likely find parts of it challenging. The same goes for the second book in this series (Math Girls Talk About Integers), which we hope to release next month, and the third book (Math Girls Talk About Trigonometry), which should come out in Dec/Jan. In 2015, we will be releasing books in this series that cover sequences & series and calculus.

 

Math Girls and Math Girls 2: Fermat's Last Theorem (and, this spring, Math Girls 3: Godel's Incompleteness Theorems) will be largely beyond her current skills, though there will be parts here and there that she might enjoy. These are pretty hardcore math books, probably best for very talented high school students and 1st-2nd year college math majors. In fact, the Math Girls Talk About... series is intended as a primer for readers who aren't quite ready for the "main" Math Girls series, and want to brush up before taking that series on.

 

If you enjoy mathematics, you may want to just read the books for yourself, and share with her those parts you think she would enjoy. IMHO, seeing a parent reading challenging books about mathematics for fun, not as part of a recommended curriculum, would be a powerful statement about how STEM studies should be approached.

 

Finally, please note that the books are called "Math Girls", not "Math for Girls", so please don't expect something like the Danica McKellar books. Gender is actually pretty much a non-issue in these books, a reflection of the culture in which they were created— Japan doesn't share our biases about male/female aptness for mathematics.

 

Here's some samples from each book, if you're interested in checking them out:

Math Girls sample

Math Girls 2: Fermat's Last Theorem sample

Math Girls Talk About Equations and Graphs sample

(Note that these samples generally cover the easiest material in each book)

 

—Tony Gonzalez, Bento Books

[Space station]

Thank you very much for your reply. I will start her on the Math Girls Talk About series, and get Math Girls for myself. I appreciate your detailed response!