Bedtime Math

ISBN: 978-1250035851
Pub Date: June 25, 2013

ISBN: 978-1250040961
Pub Date: March 11, 2014

ISBN: 978-1250047755
Pub Date: March 3, 2015

Bedtime Math
Laura Overdeck

My rating: ★★★★

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Age: Grades K - 4
Genre: Nonfiction

Themes: addition, subtraction, multiplication, fractions, division,

We all know it's wonderful to read bedtime stories to kids, but what about doing math? While many may be intimidated by the idea, Bedtime Math wants to encourage a love of simple math for both parent and child. The series is made up of fun, mischief-making math problems to tackle on topics from jalapeños and submarines to roller coasters and flamingos—something a bit more fun than your standard flash card. And with three different levels of challenge (wee ones, little kids, and big kids), there's something for everyone.

Overall, I'm just going to say this now: the idea behind these books is pure genius. Get your kids excited about math! Even if you don't like it! It will be an incredibly important asset for them for the rest of their life. And what's great is that these math problems really are far from miserable. They combine interesting facts and figures with some just plain silly ideas (e.g. "If you have 3 pairs of striped underwear with 5 pairs of purple elephant underwear..." or "There are about 200 bones in the human body, but when you're born you start with about 350..."). It really keeps kids engaged and helps them recognize why math would be used in day-to-day life.

For each topic (e.g. "Bones in the body" or "underwear") the author does provide three levels of questions, but does not outline the age range appropriate for each level. Basically, you can practice with whatever your child is comfortable with. The problems range from super easy to somewhat easy, so may not appeal as much to the older grades. Also, I did feel there were a couple times that the different levels were not, well, all that different. But that's just me; by all means, do all the challenges.

The different series address different topics, but it's the same idea in every book. The website also provides daily challenges, as well. Basically, you'll not run out of math problems any time soon. So give it a try! I wish I had kids to read this to at night. I'm definitely recommending it.

Find it at your library or on Amazon