The Adventures of Ruby Pi and the Geometry Girls: Teen Heroines in History Use Geometry, Algebra, and Other Mathematics to Solve Colossal Problems

Mocked and hounded by the other candy-stripers, Simone proves her worth when an enemy tank explodes the quiet of a French field hospital near Montcornet (May, 1940). An encrypted code holds the secret to a flaw in the tank's design. Boom ! Can Simone break the code in time?

Young Shawnee Smith speaks truth to power when one of the world's great citizens visits her Florida home. Her idea can change the fate of her people. But will anyone listen?

Teen heroines in history use geometry, algebra and other mathematics to solve colossal problems.

"Brilliant ..." Julie Porter, Bookworm Reviews

"We must teach mathematics from different points of view and different perspectives, as Tom has done in this collection of stories." -- Sandra Uve, Author "SuperMujeres, SuperInventoras," from her Foreword

"Wonderful reads ... an invaluable addition to any library. These stories represent the missing link between math entertainment and education that young learners have long needed." -- Diane Donovan, Editor, Bookwatch

Tom Durwood is a teacher, writer and editor with an interest in history. Tom most recently taught English Composition and Empire and Literature at Valley Forge Military College, where he won the Teacher of the Year Award five times. Tom has taught Public Speaking and Basic Communications as guest lecturer for the Naval Special Warfare Development Group at the Dam's Neck Annex of the Naval War College.Tom's ebook Empire and Literature matches global works of film and fiction to specific quadrants of empire, finding surprising parallels. Literature, film, art and architecture are viewed against the rise and fall of empire. In a foreword to Empire and Literature, postcolonial scholar Dipesh Chakrabarty of the University of Chicago calls it "imaginative and innovative." Prof. Chakrabarty writes that "Durwood has given us a thought-provoking introduction to the humanities." His subsequent book "Kid Lit: An Introduction to Literary Criticism" has been well-reviewed. "My favorite nonfiction book of the year," writes The Literary Apothecary (Goodreads).Early reader response to Tom's historical fiction adventures has been promising. "A true pleasure ... the richness of the layers of Tom's novel is compelling," writes Fatima Sharrafedine in her foreword to "The Illustrated Boatman's Daughter." The Midwest Book Review calls that same adventure "uniformly gripping and educational ... pairing action and adventure with social issues." Adds Prairie Review, "A deeply intriguing, ambitious historical fiction series."Tom briefly ran his own children's book imprint, Calico Books (Contemporary Books, Chicago). Tom's newspaper column "Shelter" appeared in the North County Times for seven years. Tom earned a Masters in English Literature in San Diego, where he also served as Executive Director of San Diego Habitat for Humanity.Two of Tom's books, "Kid Lit" and "The Illustrated Boatman's Daughter," were selected "Best of the New" by Julie Sara Porter's Bookworm Book Alert 2021.

Sandra Uve, author of "Superwomen, Superinventors: Brilliant Ideas that Transformed our Lives" has agreed to write a 400-word Foreword to The Math Girls.An exhibit based on Sandra's book about female inventors from history has been shown at more than 200 libraries and museums such as Caixaforum Zaragoza, Palma, Girona, Tarragona and Lleida. The Commonwealth of Pamplona hosted "Discovering Women Scientists" in 2021, and that same year, the Gerència de Serveis de Biblioteques de la Diputació de Barcelona produced an exhibition by Sandra, Dones de la Mar, about marine biologists and environmental activists.