Mummy Math: An Adventure in Geometry - Hardcover

Neuschwander, Cindy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805075054 ISBN 13: 9780805075052

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 2005

Synopsis

Matt, Bibi, and their dog Riley crawled through the tiny opening first. FWUMP! A secret door suddenly closed behind them . . .

Matt and Bibi use math to escape from a pharaoh's tomb!

When the Zills family is summoned to Egypt to help find the hidden burial site of an ancient pharaoh, Matt and Bibi are locked into an adventure they did not expect. Stuck inside a pyramid with only each other, their dog Riley, and geometric hieroglyphics to help them find their way, the twins must use their math knowledge to solve the riddles on the walls and locate the burial chamber.

Luckily, the two know their stuff when it comes to geometric solids.

About this title

About the Author

Cindy Neuschwander is the author of the Sir Cumference series, and she is also a third-grade teacher. Although she has never been trapped inside a pyramid, she has explored some in Egypt. Ms. Neuschwander lives in California.

Bryan Langdo is the illustrator of Joe Cinders. He is a big fan of mummy movies and lives in New Jersey.

Reviews

Grade 1-4–Matt and Bibi go to Egypt with their scientist parents in search of an ancient pharaoh's mummy. When the siblings are accidentally shut in the pyramid, they decide to explore. Using hieroglyphic clues, they discover that the path to the mummy is delineated by "faces," the flat surfaces of geometric solids. As they find either pictures of solid shapes or the objects themselves, the twins count the faces of the shapes and are guided through the pyramid by relating their answers to the hieroglyphic clues. They find the mummy and a map indicating the way out. Although this book attempts to provide an introduction to solid geometry, the information is not clearly presented. The colorful impressionist cartoons depict the various shapes discussed in the text, but they are not labeled. The plot itself is a stretch: before they leave for Egypt, Bibi says she hopes to learn about hieroglyphics, but as soon as she arrives there, she is expert enough to interpret complex messages. An endnote lists some good activities to help children learn about geometric solids, but the story will leave readers more confused than enlightened. Try Stuart J. Murphy's Captain Invincible and the Space Shapes (HarperCollins, 2001) and Tana Hoban's Cubes, Cones, Cylinders, & Spheres (Greenwillow, 2000) for better introductions to this topic.–Lynda Ritterman, Atco Elementary School, Waterford, NJ
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Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0805075054
• ISBN 13: 9780805075052
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Langdo Bryan
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32