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Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths by Maisie Chan

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Eleven-year-old Danny Chung loves drawing more than anything – certainly more than maths, which, according to his dad and everyone else, is what he is ‘supposed’ to be good at. He also loves having his own room where he can draw in peace, so his life is turned upside down when a surprise that he’s been promised turns out to be his little, wrinkly, ex-maths-champion grandmother from China. What’s worse, Nai Nai has to share his room, AND she takes the top bunk! Nai Nai can’t speak a word of English, which doesn’t make things easy for Danny when he is charged with looking after her during his school holidays. Babysitting Nai Nai is NOT what he wants to be doing! Before long though it becomes clear to Danny that there is more to Nai Nai than meets the eye, and that they have more in common that he thought possible.

Follow the author on Instagram:

Never Teach a Stegosaurus to Do Sums by Rashmi Sirdeshpande ill. Diane Ewen

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A love letter to learning and the power of numbers

A laugh-out-loud ‘what if . . .?’ adventure that celebrates maths being fun.

If a Stegosaurus knew how to do sums – well, what would happen? Maybe she’d learn to code, to invent, to fly to the moon!

Here’s Rashmi talking about a previous book, How To Be Extraordinary:

Follow the author on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rashmiwriting/
Follow the illustrator on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativedewen/

The Perfect Fit by Naomi Jones ill. James Jones

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Both an imaginative exploration of shapes and a tale of individuality and inclusion. The first collaboration between a husband-and-wife team.

No matter how hard she tries, Triangle doesn’t roll like the circles, or stack like the squares…so she sets off to find friends that look exactly like her. But when she finds the other triangles, playtime isn’t as fun. She misses the shapes that roll and stack; she misses being different. So she starts a new quest, one that gets all of the different shapes playing and having fun together!

Follow James Jones on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamespauljones/
And follow husband-and-wife’s joint IG: https://www.instagram.com/naomiandjamesjones/

James Jones is an Art Director and designer working freelance to design book covers for publishers worldwide.

Coding, killjoys and the science of education – The Next Web

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Good piece by Paul Sawers with a plethora of inline links surveying a full range of current educational themes, including coding, creativity, testing (of 4-yr-olds) and computer-based mathematics (as espoused by Conrad Wolfram).

Reading of the full piece recommended – follow the link:

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2014/02/06/killjoys-coding-future-education/#!uDbe1

Reading for fun improves children’s brains, study confirms

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A new study confirms the importance of reading for pleasure in a child’s cognitive development:

Reading clearly introduces young people to new words, so the link between reading for pleasure and vocabulary development is expected. But the link between reading for fun and progress in maths may be more surprising. I would suggest that reading also introduces young people to new ideas. Along with teaching them new vocabulary, it helps them understand and absorb new information and concepts at school. Independent reading may also promote a more self-sufficient approach to learning in general.

Some people are concerned that young people today read less in their spare time than previous generations. This is particularly worrying because our research suggests that it is likely to negatively affect their intellectual development. We also know that reading for pleasure tends to decline in secondary school. Our findings emphasise how important it is for schools and libraries to provide access to a wide range of books and help young people discover authors they will enjoy. [My emphasis]

via Reading for fun improves children’s brains, study confirms | Books | theguardian.com.