4KookieKids Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 (edited) I was thinking about the books folks were recommending for fun math reading, and wondered if we could get a list going of good subject books for accelerated kids in various fields. I'm thinking mostly of stuff like math and science, but would gladly expand as people provide their suggestions! :) My kiddo loves to read and I would much rather give him interesting science books at this age than do any formal science with him. He's already read stuff like LOF and BA just for fun with math, but I'm not really looking for curricula or textbooks. One of my personal favorites is The Code Book, by Simon Singh. The math is straight-forward but it's gets people interested while covering a good bit of history too. I'll be honest that my kiddo loves the "Magic School Bus presents...." books as well (different than the normal Magic School Bus in that they don't have much of the fictional side to them). Way more full of information than a typical picture book, but he's still very enamored with bright, colorful pictures! lol. What are your favorites? ETA: Maybe mention any questionable content or advanced knowledge needed (e.g., if a book assumes a working knowledge of trig or number theory or something). Edited March 9, 2017 by deanna1ynne 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolate-chip chooky Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 Super idea! I always love to hear new book recommendations from others. My 10yr old loves the following: What Einstein Told His Cook What Einstein Told His Cook #2 What Einstein Told His Barber These have nothing to do with Einstein, but they are the science behind everyday things and the 'cook' ones are all food related eg why do the yolks of eggs go greeny-black when hard-boiled. The 'cook' ones also include recipes related to each topic. It's easy reading, has some humour, and has lots of science. Super. They aren't kids' books, but I haven't come across anything that isn't kid-friendly as yet. She also loves the Horribly Famous series, particularly the ones about scientists. Once again, it's that mix of humour + science that's a sure winner for us. The ones about Newton and Einstein are excellent. They have their life stories plus all the lovely maths and physics. She also LOVED Chew on This by Eric Schlosser. It's the McDonald's expose Fast Food Nation, but toned down a bit for kids. Not maths/science, but the books by Peter Menzel have been huge hits here too: Material World, Hungry Planet and What I Eat. These are excellent and they compare the belongings and diets of people from different parts of the world. Also - Theodore Gray's The Elements and his new one Molecules. My daughter has loved these and also likes the apps that go with them. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 Definitely watching this thread! DD has gone through all the usual "younger" fun math books and I'm wondering what's next. Some that she's enjoyed for early math: - MathStart series by Stuart J. Murphy (in three levels, ranging from preschool concepts to early elementary) - Time-Life I Love Math books - mishmash of math puzzles, stories, and games - Sir Cumference books - these have been read and reread very often! - Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School - most chapters are logic puzzles, not arithmetic-oriented. The logic puzzles don't need any special knowledge, but the ability to put together a logic grid is very useful. The Horrible Histories and Murderous Maths series are on her shelf and she regularly grabs them for pleasure reading. She has said some of the history ones (especially WW2) do get a little extra grotesque, but there's not been anything that made her stop reading yet. (She can be on the sensitive side, but she self-selects well, so I don't restrict her reading.) We've read a few of the Scientists in the Field series, and they're good for presenting science careers in an interesting but nonglorified way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoundAbout Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 (edited) Quark's list was invaluable for this! Some favorites of ours: Penrose the Mathematical Cat The Number Devil Murderous Maths series Mathematics: A Human Endeavor Some of the vintage books by Irving Adler. My son poured over his Golden Library of Knowledge book when he was younger. So much material about cool math topics in one slim volume, child friendly little book. Edited March 9, 2017 by RoundAbout 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4KookieKids Posted March 9, 2017 Author Share Posted March 9, 2017 Quark's list was invaluable for this! Some favorites of ours: Penrose the Mathematical Cat The Number Devil Murderous Maths series Mathematics: A Human Endeavor Some of the vintage books by Irving Adler. My son poured over his Golden Library of Knowledge book when he was younger. So much material about cool math topics in one slim volume, child friendly little book. Could you link to (or just copy and paste) Quark's list? Do you mean her big long math thread? I didn't mean to double up on something that's already been done! It's so hard to keep track of everything and still keep my head on my shoulders with my four kiddos! lol. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GThomas Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 We've recently added magazines to our reading pile. We're enjoying ChemMatters and American Scientist. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 Basher books are great. DD found them starting at age 5 or so. For a little older audience, the Cartoon Guide and Manga guides are great. DD also enjoyed the "Painless" guides and the "Dummies" guides for various topics. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolate-chip chooky Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 (edited) Basher books are great. DD found them starting at age 5 or so. For a little older audience, the Cartoon Guide and Manga guides are great. DD also enjoyed the "Painless" guides and the "Dummies" guides for various topics. Yes, Manga-style books have been a hit here, too, although they don't tickle my fancy. The Manga series my daughter particularly likes is called Great Figures in History and she's read Da Vinci, Curie, Einstein and Mandela. We have some Manga guides and one Cartoon Guide, but my daughter turns her nose up at the newspaper-ish paper of the Cartoon Guide. It doesn't look or feel nice. I've raised a book snob! ETA: I hadn't come across the Painless series before. I've now got two of them sitting in an online cart. My long-suffering credit card thanks you... ;) Edited March 9, 2017 by chocolate-chip chooky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 DS 10 just requested these Nathan Hale books https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Nathan-Hales-Hazardous-Tales/dp/141970396X We love Horrible Histories too Sir Cumference is a hit with my 6 year olds. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1570917728/ref=pd_luc_rh_mrairnr_01_03_t_img_lh?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slackermom Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 I am seconding the recommendation for Chew on This by Schlosser. It was assigned at my daughter's 4th grade ps. She became a vegetarian while reading the book, and she was feeling quite charged up about learning more. We started homeschooling shortly after that. I'm not saying the book did all that, but it was definitely part of the arc of dd's story. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanDiegoMom Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 My ds has been enjoying Here's Looking at Euclid; And for computer science he loves the series by Jeremy Kubica -- Computational Fairy Tales, Lauren Ipsum, and CS Detective. They use the first in his online class and he asked for the other two. He also loves the Weird World of Words by Mitchell Symons. My dd loves the Scientist in the Field books. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 The Painless books are usually available used very inexpensively, as are the Dummies books. Both tend to be purchased by adults who use them to brush up on topics for an exam or before taking a class, so they tend to be common at used bookstores or on Amazon for the cost of shipping. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 (edited) My kiddo's non-traditional/sometimes traditional math journey is partially outlined here: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/320275-designing-a-non-traditional-math-course-for-a-math-loving-structure-hating-child/?p=3272174 Edited March 10, 2017 by quark 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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