G Is for Googol: A Math Alphabet Book

by David M. Schwartz, Marissa Moss (Illustrator)

B is for Binary, F is for Fibonacci, P is for Probability... even a small sample begins to give you the idea that this is a math book unlike any other. Ranging freely from exponents to light-years to numbers found in nature, this smorgasbord of math concepts and trivia makes a perfect classroom companion or gift book for the budding young mathematician at home. Even the most reluctant math student will be drawn in by the author's trademark wit, Marissa Moss's quirky illustrations and funny captions, and the answers revealed in W is for " When are we ever gonna use this stuff, anyway?" Download the G is for Googol Teacher's Guide(300K)

Genres: Mathematics, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens, Science, Teaching, Geometry

60 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1998

About the author

As a child, I was filled with a sense of awe as I contemplated the universe. The huge numbers of stars and their sizes and distances never failed to amaze me. With binoculars and magnifying glass, I also focused on closer subjects like birds, flowers, frogs and bugs.

But science and math weren't my only fascinations: I also loved bicycles, baseball, boats…and ice cream. Years later, on a clear spring night, I looked up at the sky and a shower of memories descended. I suddenly remembered my childhood awe at the wonders of space.

That night I was inspired to write my first book, How Much Is a Million? Now, almost 50 books later, I spend much of my time finding unusual, whimsical ways to make math and science come alive for kids and teachers, both through my writing, and through speaking at schools and conferences. I also write science articles for magazines, especially Smithsonian, and to do the research I've made exciting trips to some of the more remote corners of several continents. I've been to Africa to study hippos, to South America to visit an indigenous tribe living in the rain forest, and to far northern Scotland to track illegal egg collectors. But I still love the land outside my door in northern California, and the same distant stars that inspired me years ago.

from http://www.davidschwartz.com/about_da...

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

G Is For Googol is the quintessential reference book for STEM because it covers topics that are relevant to all of the STEM subjects. From abacus to zillion, this advanced ABC book conveys complex ideas in the funniest way possible. “R is for Rhombicosidodecahedron” is one of my favorites. A rhombicosidodecahedron (ROM-bi-cosi-DOE-DECK-a-HEE-dron) is a special kind of three-dimensional shape with flat sides. Schwartz manages to effectively describe this complex shape by building upon the reader’s prior knowledge of other less complex shapes, such as cubes. Included with this description is an illustration of the shape with a tyrannosaurus rex sitting on top asking, “Are you sure it’s not a dinosaur or a dance from Brazil?” Good fun on every page!

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very detailed mathematical alphabet book. It took us a month to get through all twenty-six letters - the information was presented in an entertaining way, but we really could only absorb it one letter at a time, often discussing the concepts a bit on our own after we read the page. It even got us to look up videos so we could learn how to use the abacus we brought back from Japan.

We were all familiar with many of the topics, but we often learned something new or interesting. In most cases, it was a good way to reinforce information that we'd read about before, especially with some of the more complex concepts. The illustrations are cartoonish and colorful and our oldest recognized the illustrative style of Marissa Moss right away, from her series called Amelia's Notebooks.

Overall, we really enjoyed reading this book together, even if it felt like it took forever to finish it. It was certainly an entertaining way to learn about myriad mathematical concepts. And I really like that the book emphasized how math is used everyday in so many different careers and aspects of life.

[Cheryl]

Honestly, I just skimmed. I like maths, and had lots of fun with them when I was a child. But this is so dense with information... it feels to me like a 26 week course. And sometimes the writing & puzzles are awfully challenging, but there's no answer key. And sometimes the writing and explanations are on a level for beginning readers. Maybe this is a good thing, because kids of different ages can get different things from it? Good book for the classrooms of math teachers of 8-10 (?) year old children, probably. Beyond that, you'll have to see for yourself.

[Hailey Dellinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great combination of Literacy and Math!!! Since this book does go over some complex words I would use this for middle school students to introduce math vocabulary. This is an interesting book that could help students explore these complex words. This has a variety of information about math that includes mathematicians, geometry, and a glossary to help understand and further explore words introduced. I have not seen a math alphabet book until I found this book. Students could write their own alphabet book along with this and explore the different units introduced. This would be great for a take home project to study more info and present to class on findings.

[Emmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me just start by saying how exciting it was to see Marissa Moss's artwork after all these years! Growing up as a big fan of the Amelia's Notebook series, it was so cool to see an old friend in a math book, of all places!

That being said, this is an excellent book! If you have a child or even a teen (or honestly, even an adult!) that you want to introduce to math in a way that makes it exciting and fun, then you should definitely check this book out. Despite the ABC's format, it's not childish. It's the perfect book for readers of all ages to have a good laugh and to learn a lot. I know I did, and I haven't taken a math class in...well, in years!

No exaggeration--after reading this book, I'm actually kind of excited to see what else I can learn about some of these math concepts. So, now I'm on the hunt for some new reading material!

[Robyn Lynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the most complex ABC children's book I have ever seen. At times I feel as though it was too much for children. I think I could use this book in a lesson, but I would never give this book to an elementary aged child and expect them to read and comprehend the information. If we did the book a page a day I think that would be more beneficial than trying to comprehend the book in its entirety. I would maybe use this in my class as we worked on a section that correlated as a class warm-up along with a daily word problem for confirmation of comprehension. I read this to fulfill by mathematical information text, and I have to admit I read it several times!

[Sierra Fresh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so fun! It is an alphabetical book with each new letter presenting a new mathematical concept. The illustrations are beautiful and add clarity to each idea. This book would be awesome in any classroom, and it could really add (even more) excitement to the study of math.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This alphabet book is not for the young. It’s probably for about 3-5th grade. Each letter is a math concept with a long but understandable explanation of what that concept or person was. It was an interesting read if you are interested in math.

[Lynnea (Juv) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun - great pictures and explanations. There is a lot of depth to this book and I think I have now made a math nerd out of my son! :)

[MD · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book a googolplex! It is a wonderful mix of education and whimsy.

[Kaelee Bungard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very detailed and long book but gives good examples and illustrations for things you will learn in upper levels of math in elementary school.

[Clarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

G is for Googol: A Math Alphabet Book by David M Schwartz is a fun-filled learning journey through the A's to Z's of math. A is for abacus and other math terms that students will run across in math through the years. But how much fun is vocabulary really? And math vocabulary is even less likely to bring a hoorah from students. So Schwartz does his level best at engaging interest and making these dry math terms come to life for student readers. Each two page section is dedicated to one letter, making sure that each is important in it's own right. Marissa Moss adds her blend of illustrated humor and colorful anecdotes to break up the flurry of knowledge being passed to the student. Schwartz's words and informational story telling give context to important vocabulary and history. The pictures make sure that every letter and background information is visually understandable. The illustrations look like something a student may have drawn while taking notes, which makes every concept relatable through Moss' skill.

[Karissa Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fairly in-depth version of an alphabet book. The book is all about math, which would be great to have in the classroom as a reference for students. Inside the book there is mathematical information ranging from the Fibonacci sequence to information about probability. This would not be a book that teacher would read aloud to the class all at once, but as they progressed throughout the year read different sections as they came to them. There are illustrations on every page, which make the book less intimidating. Also there are examples on the pages so they can read about it but then also get a visual. Something else that is beneficial is the glossary in the back to provide even more detail. Having this book as an option in the classroom can give the students’ a resource before they have to come and ask the teacher. It also is a different way of presenting mathematical information, which might be beneficial to students who are struggling with math and need a different approach to learning the information.

[Chak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually read this book on my own, I enjoyed it so much. It's a Math Alphabet book, probably good for matheletes of all ages, starting around 6 or 7. To give you an example of some of the topics, we have A is for Abacus, B in for Binary, C is for Cubit, D is for Diamond, E is for Equilateral and Exponent (they were too excited to just give one E entry), F is for Fibonacci, etc. You get the idea of what level they are at.

Little T and I especially liked "K is for Königsberg" (about the "Königsberg bridge problem), a great example of a network theory problem.

"R is for Rhombicosidodecaheadron" kind of lost us, but we were recaptured by "T is for Tessellate" (when shapes cover a surface with no gaps in between).

[Brittany Balunas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since the members of my cohort and I discussed ABC books in our literacy class and published our own, I found the tie in to math and literacy to be great. This would be a great book to have in the classroom library. Children could explore this book on their own for independent reading. Since the vocabulary is a little complex, I would not use this as a read aloud or in lower elementary classrooms. However, this is a great introduction to math vocabulary that could spark interest and further exploration.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a picture book you can blow through in 5-10 minutes, there's 1-4 pages of text (and pictures!) for each letter of the alphabet. I could quibble about some of the words they chose (really, D is for Diamond?), but there are also additional words in the "and ___ is also for" section for each letter.

It seems like they're trying to keep the terms limited to arithmetic/pre-algebra/elementary school geometry.

The book ends with a nice glossary of terms.

This book would be a nice starting point for math explorations and/or an inspiration for students to write their own math alphabet book.

[Kelly Powell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a great book for introducing, teaching, and furthering your learning in the subject of math. Each page uses a letter of the Alphabet to tie into a word in the mathematics department. Some of these words were new to me and I was intrigued to read the explanation of the word I didn’t know previously. I was also able to learn something in the explanation of some of the words I already did know. A great wealth of knowledge for young minds and a book that you can read several times and learn something new each time.

[Audrey]

G is for Googol breaks the barrier for typical vocabulary textbooks. This math book designates two pages each to one letter that describes a math term. Though definitions might be boring the illustrations keep the message alive and virbrant making kids memorization easier. This book is fantastic for early math stages and the basics to learning how to study for future work ethic. Another David Schwartz classic that we can learn with

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great! I could read just the titles for Abe and there was tons more text that I could sort through for Zeke. It could definitely be read by an older child and enjoyed. It named a bunch of math concepts that we haven't discussed yet, but they loved the pictures and conversation bubbles. And I think it helped to look forward to what else is out there.

[Frank Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked how this book combined literacy and math. However, some of the words such used may be too complex for younger students. In addition, young students may not be able to relate the letter to word used because they are not familiar with the word used. I thought the illustrations did a good job of demonstrating the theme of the book.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a fantastic read. I was amazed by the authors ability to intertwine math and literacy. I think this book would be a very beneficial read for my students. Even if they have read this book before I would encourage them to read it again because there is so much information you could learn something new a second time reading it.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ordered this from Scholastic, and it's one of my all-time favorite books for kids. It's an alphabet book of math concepts, succinctly described, with humorous illustrations. I once used this to teach a class for a homeschool co-op and it was well-received by both kids and adults.

[DixieJo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a "picture book" that is a fun introduction to math words that are in our math future. We probably won't use all of them... but they are fun to learn anyway. Example: E is for Equilateral (with it's definition). And "E" is also for ellipse, equation, equivalent fractions and estimate.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a GOOD book. I read it to my 7 year old and he LOVES it. We borrowed it from the library but its going to be one we have to add to our own library at home. K for the seven bridges of Königsberg is my favorite, I actually never had heard of it before!!

[Ruth Ann]

Quirky pictures and witty text give this book great appeal. There is lots of information on each page so this is definitely a book for older kids. From units, to mathematicians and geometry, all things math are included here. Also includes a glossary in the back.

[Jeri · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome book that explains multiple math concepts in a fun, interesting way. I'd put this one down for older kids even though it is an alphabet book because of some of the math concepts it explains.

[ckodama152 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to talk about different math concepts and vocabulary. There are some more complex math terms defined, so this book would be perfect for 5th graders and up. The pictures and examples used are also funny and help explain the concepts well.

[Mandy Casto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for high school or advanced middle school. This is a fun book to introduce in a math class or use as the leading example of a summative math project (requiring students to create a similar book about the concepts they have covered in class).

[Allison Burke]

This is a fantastic book for older students. It links literacy with math providing several higher level vocabulary words that are used in math. It also shows everyday examples about how these words are used in everyday life. Grades 3-5.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlotte: I think this book teaches you funny things about math. I liked "B is for Binary."

Amy: Not your usual alphabet book, this teaches kids about advanced math concepts like Fibonacci numbers, binary, abacus.