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The Grapes of Math
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Category: Math Skills"How many grapes are on the vine? Counting each takes too much time. Never fear, I have a hunchThere is a match for every bunch!"Greg Tang, a lifelong lover of math, shares the techniques that have helped him solve problems in the most creative ways! Harry Briggs's vibrant & inviting illustrations create a perfect environment for these innovative games. So open your mind-and have fun!"This...clever math book uses rhyming couplets... riddles...visual clues to help the reader find new ways to group numbers for quick counting...A winning addition!" --Kirkus
Category: Math Skills"How many grapes are on the vine? Counting each takes too much time. Never fear, I have a hunchThere is a match for every bunch!"Greg Tang, a lifelong lover of math, shares the techniques that have helped him solve problems in the most creative ways! Harry Briggs's vibrant & inviting illustrations create a perfect environment for these innovative games. So open your mind-and have fun!"This...clever math book uses rhyming couplets... riddles...visual clues to help the reader find new ways to group numbers for quick counting...A winning addition!" --Kirkus
40 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 230 reviews
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January 17, 2022Why does math have to trick your brain
July 8, 2009
Simple riddles prompt you to look at a visual counting conundrum in a different way. On your public school math drills, you'll see everything grouped into perfect columns already, but this book will show you groups of things in more random formation, like real life. I was stumped EVERY time (and I was an excellent student in math); the answers at the end comprise the lesson/teaching aspect of the book. I learned some really good strategies for practical math applications, but more importantly, I learned that there are different ways of seeing and approaching problems that we "don't have time" to learn in school. I hope my son gets as much out of it as me, and exposing this to him at the right age could be the most important thing I can do for his math education!
February 2, 2019
I got the book because of the title's pun. I was not disappointed. It is full of rhymes and riddles, it makes for a fun read-aloud. Also, a counting strategy is given for every math puzzle to solve. This book helps children find patterns in problems. It is a nice alternative to replace worksheets for a day.
September 3, 2009
Loved the way adding and subtracting exercises are incorporated into this story. For a kid that likes to participate when he/she is being read to, this is a good mind-teaser. Not so hard it would make a child lose confidence, though perhaps they would need a couple times through before they get them all easily.
April 17, 2017
The genre of this book is poetry. I would use it in any classroom from grades 1-3. It is a book of short poems that revolve around math (addition, subtraction and multiplication explicitly). With fun and engaging illustrations, this book will make children learn to not only love poetry, but become more inclined to do math and look for it in their every day lives!
The awesome thing about this book is that it ties both math and language arts together; it could be used during a math less, or it could be used during reading or writing. Many children are under the impression that each subject is its own. That science is strictly science or that history is strictly history. This book shows children how subjects can relate with one another and be used together to allow learning (and in a fun way). I would also use this book to teach students that there are many ways in which to count, and different scenarios call for different methods.
This book was WOW book for me for two reasons. First, I love that each poem ties in math, but in a different way. For instance, one might invite students to add the numbers in various group sizes, while another has them add quickly by subtracting rather than counting each object individually. The poems also hint about how to count, rather than blatantly telling them. The other reason I really like this book is because each poem has a different topic/object that students are asked to count. This demonstrates to students that math can be found all around us, and, hopefully, will get them looking for ways to practice on their own.
The awesome thing about this book is that it ties both math and language arts together; it could be used during a math less, or it could be used during reading or writing. Many children are under the impression that each subject is its own. That science is strictly science or that history is strictly history. This book shows children how subjects can relate with one another and be used together to allow learning (and in a fun way). I would also use this book to teach students that there are many ways in which to count, and different scenarios call for different methods.
This book was WOW book for me for two reasons. First, I love that each poem ties in math, but in a different way. For instance, one might invite students to add the numbers in various group sizes, while another has them add quickly by subtracting rather than counting each object individually. The poems also hint about how to count, rather than blatantly telling them. The other reason I really like this book is because each poem has a different topic/object that students are asked to count. This demonstrates to students that math can be found all around us, and, hopefully, will get them looking for ways to practice on their own.
February 11, 2019
The Grapes of Math is a fun book about learning basic math skills in elementary grades. This book illustrates fun math riddles using ants, cherries, fish, etc. to show quick methods of counting and multiplying. I learned some quicker ways to add and multiply in my head. I would use this book to teach my students a basic lessons on problem solving. I think it would be cool to use actually cherries or bugs to model these problems with my students. This is a great book that can shed some fun on reading and math.
December 3, 2017
Summary “The Grapes of Math�: This book challenges the reader to view illustrated math problems from different perspectives.
Reading level: LG K-3, BL 3.3 AR Quiz #50635 EN
Characteristics that Support the Genre: Each page has an illustration, paired with a rhyme providing hints on how to visually consider the drawing to more quickly solve the problem.
Mentor Writing Traits:
Idea: An informational read that re-trains your brain to look at shapes differently.
Organization: Rhyme and math problem per page.
Word Choice: Simple, easy to read rhyming scheme.
Conventions: The text is large and easy to read. The math problem is highlighted, with the hint to follow.
Presentation: Fun, colorful, informative.
Classroom Integration: For young learners, I would even take a page a day to really develop the visual. The very first page, "Fish School", is a perfect example of how your eye categorizes by color but the author challenges you to, instead, look for other patterns. I also appreciate that it's a Scholastic Bookshelf book and has a clever title ;)
Reading level: LG K-3, BL 3.3 AR Quiz #50635 EN
Characteristics that Support the Genre: Each page has an illustration, paired with a rhyme providing hints on how to visually consider the drawing to more quickly solve the problem.
Mentor Writing Traits:
Idea: An informational read that re-trains your brain to look at shapes differently.
Organization: Rhyme and math problem per page.
Word Choice: Simple, easy to read rhyming scheme.
Conventions: The text is large and easy to read. The math problem is highlighted, with the hint to follow.
Presentation: Fun, colorful, informative.
Classroom Integration: For young learners, I would even take a page a day to really develop the visual. The very first page, "Fish School", is a perfect example of how your eye categorizes by color but the author challenges you to, instead, look for other patterns. I also appreciate that it's a Scholastic Bookshelf book and has a clever title ;)
May 9, 2011
This is a wonderful book of math riddles (with easy to understand answers in the back) that helps teach creativity and open-minded problem solving. The riddles are in the form of rhyming poems that are easy to understand. And the illustrations are great for helping to teach the concepts. We really enjoyed reading this book together.
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October 26, 2016This may have been above our reading level
November 13, 2018
Huh.
The definitely-good first:
The images are really good counting or large number talk-ish images. There are often multiple things to count, but it's not overwhelming. So the illustrations on their own are pretty mathematically rich.
The suggested strategies are good ones. Subtraction/complementary counting, forming "friendly" numbers, symmetry, etc.
There's a lot of multiplicative reasoning here (or opportunities for it), but all solutions are presented in the answer key with only addition and subtraction. Most of the questions as written would be hard for a kid who couldn't skip count yet, but if they can skip count by 4 or 5, almost all of the questions will be accessible, usually with the suggested strategy.
What I'm not sure about:
The text of this book is always pushing particular strategies. The strategy for each page is always a pretty efficient one. It's never the only strategy, and the book recognizes that. (It sometimes implies that the only alternative is counting one by one, though?) But often the pushed/presented solution is not the only efficient or interesting strategy, and so I don't love that the text and answer key present one "best" solution without any interrogation of that. I tried to avoid reading past the question first. There were several pages where my strategy was different than the suggested one, and I was usually still happy with mine.
Perhaps to summarize all of that: the reader's mathematical thinking isn't valued. The anticipated reader approach is depicted as too slow or tedious, and the book doesn't leave space for alternate interesting approaches because the text always leads you in one direction.
But like I said above, the strategies the text pushes the reader towards are good ones! They're ones I think people should learn! And students might not arrive at them on their own, especially if they weren't looking at these images in mathematical community with different people's strategies being discussed.
So I think there is a place for this, but if I were reading with a kid, I'd want to give more space for their own strategies. (And I'd also want to make sure they were reading things like How Many? as well.)
The definitely-good first:
The images are really good counting or large number talk-ish images. There are often multiple things to count, but it's not overwhelming. So the illustrations on their own are pretty mathematically rich.
The suggested strategies are good ones. Subtraction/complementary counting, forming "friendly" numbers, symmetry, etc.
There's a lot of multiplicative reasoning here (or opportunities for it), but all solutions are presented in the answer key with only addition and subtraction. Most of the questions as written would be hard for a kid who couldn't skip count yet, but if they can skip count by 4 or 5, almost all of the questions will be accessible, usually with the suggested strategy.
What I'm not sure about:
The text of this book is always pushing particular strategies. The strategy for each page is always a pretty efficient one. It's never the only strategy, and the book recognizes that. (It sometimes implies that the only alternative is counting one by one, though?) But often the pushed/presented solution is not the only efficient or interesting strategy, and so I don't love that the text and answer key present one "best" solution without any interrogation of that. I tried to avoid reading past the question first. There were several pages where my strategy was different than the suggested one, and I was usually still happy with mine.
Perhaps to summarize all of that: the reader's mathematical thinking isn't valued. The anticipated reader approach is depicted as too slow or tedious, and the book doesn't leave space for alternate interesting approaches because the text always leads you in one direction.
But like I said above, the strategies the text pushes the reader towards are good ones! They're ones I think people should learn! And students might not arrive at them on their own, especially if they weren't looking at these images in mathematical community with different people's strategies being discussed.
So I think there is a place for this, but if I were reading with a kid, I'd want to give more space for their own strategies. (And I'd also want to make sure they were reading things like How Many? as well.)
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October 6, 2024This picture book can definitely support student learning, as it showcases several different examples of counting, and even provides fun hints for these young readers. The illustrations are bright, eye-catching, and easy to understand. These illustrations are perfect for learners who prefer taking a visual approach to their learning. The colors and patterns are well thought out by the illustrator, as the colors match together to make grouping easier for the reader. The hints given on each page help young readers take a different approach than counting by ones. When referring to counting all the mushrooms on a pizza, the picture book says, “Let me give you some advice, just do it half and count it twice� (Tang). These rhyming hints allow readers to think differently about how to solve the problem. The book represents the same concepts in several different ways, each page bringing a new approach.
Although this book is fairly old, there are still several ways I can incorporate it into my future classroom. I think creating an activity for my students based off of this book would be beneficial for them. For example, I could implement an activity where students create their own riddles, just like the book. They can challenge their peers to find the answer to their math riddles. This is a fun activity that still encourages a lot of thinking for my students. While coming up with a riddle can be fun and silly, the activity still challenges them to come up with a problem and answer. Students would also draw out their riddle, which is especially helpful for those who are visual learners. Having it drawn out in front of them can make it a bit easier to solve. The fun riddles incorporated into this book are also beneficial for auditory learners, as they learn best through hearing the problems. I really enjoyed the way this book goes about teaching patterns and grouping. It's something I plan to keep in my back pocket as I continue to get closer to having my own classroom in the future.
Although this book is fairly old, there are still several ways I can incorporate it into my future classroom. I think creating an activity for my students based off of this book would be beneficial for them. For example, I could implement an activity where students create their own riddles, just like the book. They can challenge their peers to find the answer to their math riddles. This is a fun activity that still encourages a lot of thinking for my students. While coming up with a riddle can be fun and silly, the activity still challenges them to come up with a problem and answer. Students would also draw out their riddle, which is especially helpful for those who are visual learners. Having it drawn out in front of them can make it a bit easier to solve. The fun riddles incorporated into this book are also beneficial for auditory learners, as they learn best through hearing the problems. I really enjoyed the way this book goes about teaching patterns and grouping. It's something I plan to keep in my back pocket as I continue to get closer to having my own classroom in the future.
December 4, 2019
This was an okay read, but I think most of my rating is it didn't live up to the hype in my head. Well, that and it took forever to read. Why did it take forever to read? Because I read it to kids who can't do math in their heads yet, so for half the book we had to count items for every poem. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue except it was bed time, I was reading to 2 so a counting fight was about to start, they had already been grumpy, etc.
I did expect some math, but I expecting the story/math to be a pun on The Grapes of Wrath. Thus, my letdown. I was hoping the math story would help show math could be fun. I didn't realize until I was reading it that the math was above their skill levels.
This book is best aimed for children who can do math in their heads and/or can do grouping and multiplication. From that aspect, I can see this being a great book. If you have the patience and it isn't bed time, you can have younger children practiced their counting. I'll admit the twins got excited to count, but 2 counting every item at bed time was a bad idea (admittedly, that's on mama).
I did expect some math, but I expecting the story/math to be a pun on The Grapes of Wrath. Thus, my letdown. I was hoping the math story would help show math could be fun. I didn't realize until I was reading it that the math was above their skill levels.
This book is best aimed for children who can do math in their heads and/or can do grouping and multiplication. From that aspect, I can see this being a great book. If you have the patience and it isn't bed time, you can have younger children practiced their counting. I'll admit the twins got excited to count, but 2 counting every item at bed time was a bad idea (admittedly, that's on mama).
May 5, 2021
"The Grapes of Math" had a title that made me curious to see exactly what a book could do to introduce math in a creative, engaging way. Greg Tang utilizes excellent word play to intrigue a reader into doing mathematics problems while also reading instructions that are informative, rhythmic, and instruct the reader of hints on how to get to the answers, easily. In the poem "Snail Parade," Tang tells the reader, "Don't just group the ones you see, consider where a snail should be."
Another poem that I thought was catchy was "Win-Doze," where Tang really plays with wording to get the reader's attention, "I lie in bed and try to sleep, counting windows instead of sheep!" For instructional purposes, the method to calculate the answers is included at the end of the book and I would suggest that, if educators have this book in their collection, print out copies of different poems and have students work on them, together. It is a fun way to compliment fluency practice, independent reading, and critical thinking skills within one book. "The Grapes of Math" is yet another book I had to order after reading it online.
Another poem that I thought was catchy was "Win-Doze," where Tang really plays with wording to get the reader's attention, "I lie in bed and try to sleep, counting windows instead of sheep!" For instructional purposes, the method to calculate the answers is included at the end of the book and I would suggest that, if educators have this book in their collection, print out copies of different poems and have students work on them, together. It is a fun way to compliment fluency practice, independent reading, and critical thinking skills within one book. "The Grapes of Math" is yet another book I had to order after reading it online.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2019
The Grapes of Math is a very colorful book. I am not a big fan of math but the poetry in the text mixed with the math problems makes this book a lot of fun. The book lays out a new math problem per page. the book allows readers to solve different level math problems by suggesting new and unexpected ways, such as by looking for patterns, symmetries, and familiar number combinations. The rhyming and poetry makes the book a lot of fun to read out loud! Just a fantastic book, Greg Tang did a good job integrating math and english into one book!!
This book is great to intergrade with multiplication and division lessons. It is also a good book to use for poetry and rhyming lesson. Teachers can use this book also for grouping of numbers, 2,4,5,10 ect.. Students can do this in groups or alone.
This book is great to intergrade with multiplication and division lessons. It is also a good book to use for poetry and rhyming lesson. Teachers can use this book also for grouping of numbers, 2,4,5,10 ect.. Students can do this in groups or alone.
May 11, 2021
This math book is absolutely genius.
I love how it talks about different ways to count, patterns, grouping, adding, subtraction, etc. This book has so many math concepts in it, it is unreal. I also love how this book isn't like a regular story book, it has multiple little poem like pages. No page is the same and they all go with a different math concept. I think the pictures are very childlike and are a great resource to use when covering one of the topics they cover. This book is great for examples of whichever topics you are covering with your kids. This will be a definite in my classroom and I will totally be using it for examples. It shows the combinations of reading and math and making math fun through the rhyming and pictures used through the entire book.
I love how it talks about different ways to count, patterns, grouping, adding, subtraction, etc. This book has so many math concepts in it, it is unreal. I also love how this book isn't like a regular story book, it has multiple little poem like pages. No page is the same and they all go with a different math concept. I think the pictures are very childlike and are a great resource to use when covering one of the topics they cover. This book is great for examples of whichever topics you are covering with your kids. This will be a definite in my classroom and I will totally be using it for examples. It shows the combinations of reading and math and making math fun through the rhyming and pictures used through the entire book.
June 7, 2024
The book, The Grapes of Math is a great tool and resource for younger students/children as they learn to count, add, and subtract. The book invites readers to identify how many grapes are on each of the vines. Counting each grape may take too much time. But don't fear, there is a match for every bunch that you can see. The book is presented in a very vibrant and inviting way paired with illustrations that create a perfect environment for innovative games to help students/children count and identify how many grapes there are. This book allows children to get creative and have fun with math. This book uses rhyming, riddles, and visual clues to help readers find new ways to group numbers for quick and accurate counting.
July 12, 2017
This informational picture book presents mathematics concepts to readers through the use of silly puns, rhymes, riddles, and games. Colorful, computer-generated illustrations help provide visual clues to readers as they work to solve the math problems presented on each page. After reading this book, it is clear that Tang aims to reach the mathematics genius of all readers, including those who struggle with math. Each of the mathematics puzzles in this book are created around the theme of food, which is sure to spark the interest of young readers. Ultimately, this informational book uses humor to spark creative, mathematics problem-solving among readers.
November 23, 2021
Learning math strategies shouldn't be boring, and nobody understands this as well as Greg Tang. In this book, he uses rhymes and riddles to engage students into learning new strategies for math puzzles. The riddles and illustrations also represent real-life objects which allows students to form a connection with someone they know. In math, students often question "When will I ever use this? How is this real?" and while thought the math is elementary level, this book still gives a good foundation. From the title of this book, I didn't think it would go deep into strategies as it did, I thought it would be a fun counting book and to my surprise, it gave me both fun and deep.
May 15, 2023
This educational picture book teaches readers about mathematical principles using humorous puns, rhymes, puzzles, and games. Readers may use the vivid, computer-generated graphics as visual cues as they attempt to answer the arithmetic problems on each page. After reading this book, it is obvious that Tang wants to inspire mathematical brilliance in all readers—even those who have difficulty with the subject. The book's arithmetic problems are all centered on the concept of food, which is likely to pique young readers' interest. In the end, this instructional book uses comedy to encourage readers to solve original arithmetic problems.
May 15, 2023
With the help of amusing puns, rhymes, puzzles, and games, this picture book teaches students about mathematical concepts. In order to solve the arithmetic problems on each page, readers can use the vibrant, computer-generated pictures as visual aids. It is clear from reading this book that Tang wishes to encourage mathematical genius in all readers—even those who struggle with the topic. The arithmetic questions in the book are all based on the idea of food, which is likely to attract young readers. In the end, this educational book use humor to persuade readers to work through unique math challenges.
May 15, 2023
This book teaches kids different ways to count a large number of objects. For each page, there are different objects to count like mushrooms on a pizza, fish in the sea, and so many more. There are illustrations on one side and a small poem on the other side. For the poems in the book, it gives the reader a hint on how to count each set of objects as quickly as possible. This book provides kids with plenty of practice problems for them to do and if they ever get confused about what to do there’s a helpful answer page that teaches them how to do a certain problem set by step.
June 21, 2017
This math informational book uses riddles and clues to help students use math to answer the questions. Each page on the book has a riddle and a picture corresponding with it, when you read the riddle you must use the picture to figure out the answer of the riddle. The illustrations in the book are bright and colorful, they go along with the riddles, and are great for visual learners who need those pictures to help them solve math riddles.
December 12, 2017
I really enjoyed this math informational book about number sets! The format of the book would be very interesting to children as the illustrations were colorful and bright and the play on words and rhyming technique really "added" to the story. I think this would be a great tool to help students make sense of number pairs and sets as a faster way to do math. I would definitely use this work in my future classroom!
May 8, 2023
"The Grapes of Math" by Greg Tang.
This wonderful math book is used to learn how to group count. In the book, each page has a riddle that you can solve for group counting. The riddles are so cute, and all the puzzles are different; for example, one puzzle is about ants, and another is about grapes. The book is colorful, and I know your students and or child will love this book. It was so fun to read as an adult; I would have liked it as a child.
This wonderful math book is used to learn how to group count. In the book, each page has a riddle that you can solve for group counting. The riddles are so cute, and all the puzzles are different; for example, one puzzle is about ants, and another is about grapes. The book is colorful, and I know your students and or child will love this book. It was so fun to read as an adult; I would have liked it as a child.
September 4, 2017
I chose this book because it looked educational, but fun at the same time. Most kids really don't like math so I was interested in this book because I thought maybe this would get kids excited for math. This book is really good if you want to get your brain going and get your student's brains going too. The activities are fun and I think it's a decent book!
December 8, 2017
This Math Informational book is a great book for kids to learn the concept of math. It gives students riddles about different problems, but in way where they can understand why, let's say, 5 times 3 is 15. This book is really colorful and display a lot of pictures so that students can be able to visually see what is happening.
November 23, 2021
This is not your typical counting book. This book is laid out in a riddle type way that helps you count many things. It guides you to count things in groups or pairs instead of counting thing one by one. This book can be helpful for those who already know how to count. It can teach to count in different ways and gets them thinking more when it comes to counting large amounts of things.
July 22, 2022
Interesting the concept behind math. I solved every single problem a completely different method, but still had the right answers. I love this. In my job kids expect me to know the answers and how to solve for them. I can do it in a different method than the teacher, and children have a sometimes easier way to solve.
May 11, 2023
This is a useful and engaging book for math students! It is a book of riddles that helps and encourages readers to think for themselves while offering guidance in the form of hints at shortcuts that readers can use to count various objects without having to count them one by one. The energetic rhymes and colorful illustrations convey a joy in math that helps to make it appealing.
July 24, 2017
In this mathematics informational book, Greg Tang helps the reader learn new ways to group when answering math question. This book is written with poems to really capture a readers attention. This is a great book for young students who are having trouble in math.
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