{"id":3998,"date":"2018-11-22T09:48:54","date_gmt":"2018-11-22T14:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/blogonmathblogs\/?p=3998"},"modified":"2018-11-29T02:33:19","modified_gmt":"2018-11-29T07:33:19","slug":"thoughts-on-writing-math-books-for-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/blogonmathblogs\/2018\/11\/22\/thoughts-on-writing-math-books-for-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts on writing math books for kids"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Eighty-eight<\/a>

Dana McKellar wrote a kid’s book about math called “Ten Magic Butterflies.” Photo credit: Charles J. Sharp via Wikimedia Creative Commons.<\/p><\/div>\n

Kids\u2019 math books: I\u2019m not talking about textbooks, but rather cheerful math-themed picture books parents might give to wide-eyed, excited kids as holiday gifts, books that take math-obsessed kids on journeys to learning thrilling new math outside the walls of the classroom, or even ones that caring adults might consider handing to kids who are struggling in math to say \u201cYou need math to succeed in life, but it\u2019s also cool! And, you can do it!\u201d<\/p>\n

In a 2016 post<\/a> for the AMS “Book Ends” blog,\u00a0Eriko Hironaka explored the question “What makes a\u00a0good<\/em> math book for children?” While it’s difficult to answer that question precisely (“Is it more important that a child be left with knowledge that they can understand and retain, or a new awareness that keeps them thinking and wondering?\u00a0\u00a0 Is mathematics a world that one can enter and join in, or is mathematics a personal journey? Of course both sides are important, but how much weight should be put on one side or the other?” she wrote), sometimes it’s easy to spot when material written for kids is unlikely to jive with its intended audience.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never written a book about math for kids, but I have been asked to review them. That\u2019s something I hesitate to do when the book is already published, out in the world and it\u2019s too late to make any changes until it\u2019s time to write a future edition. I also feel strange writing reviews of kids\u2019 math books when I don\u2019t have kids of my own to ask what they think.<\/p>\n

So, instead of writing reviews, I would rather offer advice for folks who are thinking about (or have already started) writing a book about math for kids. That advice, shared below, is based on my own experience with writing in different capacities about math for kids, from online non-fiction stories aimed at middle school students to content for a series of math and science comic books for elementary school students. This isn\u2019t meant as an exhaustive guide, but, rather, a starting point.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Make your target audience specific and somewhat narrow.<\/strong><\/p>\n

With some books, it seems the author or publisher was concerned that if the target audience was too narrow, the book might fail. However, if you\u2019re writing for an audience that\u2019s too broad, it\u2019s going to be difficult for anyone to feel as if the book is meant for them. This is especially true if you\u2019re writing for kids. If a kid thinks something isn\u2019t for them and they have a choice in the matter, they\u2019re going to drop it like a hot potato.<\/p>\n

For example, I\u2019ve seen books which were designed to help kids catch up in math that were aimed at third to sixth graders. In the U.S., that roughly includes kids ages 8 to 12, not accounting for kids who have started school at younger or older ages than average, skipped grades or repeated grades. Tack on a couple of years of wiggle room, and those become books aimed at 7 to 13 year olds. That\u2019s a huge range of ages and levels of development.<\/p>\n

If you were going to talk about a concept to a child who\u2019s 7 and then explain the same one to a child who is 13, those would be two very different conversations. Books are sort of conversations between authors and readers, so make certain the audience you\u2019re interacting with is prepared to understand and learn from the conversation but also isn\u2019t going to feel as if they\u2019re being talked down to. Why not start with a more narrow audience in mind (say, third graders who are struggling to understand multiplication or seven year olds who would enjoy reading a bedtime story about numbers with their parents) and only broaden it if necessary?<\/p>\n

Tightly focus the information you want to convey.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve read a book that tried to address study habits, math anxiety and confidence issues, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, test taking strategies and more, all aimed at an elementary school audience of kids who were struggling with math. As an adult who has a math background, when I saw all that information combined into one book, it felt like an onslaught of too much information. If I were a kid who was trying to read that book from cover to cover in order to improve as a math student, I can\u2019t imagine not feeling overwhelmed and deciding to quit reading the book.<\/p>\n

Wouldn\u2019t it be better to choose a small number of connected topics to focus the book on than to present so much information that kids get overwhelmed and only understand a small fraction of the information you\u2019re trying to share? For example, Danica McKellar\u2019s Ten Magic Butterflies<\/em> picture book is \u201can enchanted story about ten hopeful flowers and a very special fairy who helps their dreams come true. In the midst of it all, kids will be introduced to all the ways to \u2018make 10.\u2019 So, 9 + 1, 8 + 2, etc.,\u201d her website<\/a> notes.<\/p>\n

Also, make certain the information you want to share is best suited to kids and not their parents and teachers. For instances, you might not get very far by including information about math study strategies in a book for 7 or 8 year olds, because many of them probably rely on their parents\u2019 direction for that and may not have much choice related to things such as how they organize their study space or options for taking a break from their homework if they\u2019re overwhelmed.<\/p>\n

Advice on tone<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t try too hard to seem like your readers\u2019 peer or hip older friend, because that tone probably isn\u2019t going to work long-term. Focus on drawing readers in and keeping their attention, but don\u2019t resort to tactics such as writing in textspeak. If that isn\u2019t already off-putting to young readers, it might make your book seem dated sooner, as language evolves quickly and what\u2019s trendy today might seem \u201ccringe-y\u201d tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Tips to prevent mental and visual overload.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the same as \u201cdumbing things down.\u201d Make sentences only as long as they need to be. That will make it easier for kids to follow the information you\u2019re presenting. Something similar applies to using short words instead of long ones, provided the two words mean the same thing. Also, keep paragraphs short \u2013 that will keep readers moving through the book \u2013 and don\u2019t try to cram too many ideas into the same paragraph.<\/p>\n

Unless you are self-publishing the book, you might have a limited say about the layout of your book\u2019s pages. However, to the extent that you have input, advocate to minimize visual clutter. Aside from the main text, it can work to have information in other places, such as boxes and speech bubbles, but young readers are likely to become overwhelmed if one page contains the main text, many boxes, speech bubbles, and copious amounts of other information strewn about in various places. If you think the page looks too blank, instead of decorating it by packing in more information in various forms, consider asking about adding illustrations that are visually pleasing and support the information that\u2019s already on the page.<\/p>\n

Have an idea?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you think you have a great new idea for a kids\u2019 math book, first do your research to make certain something similar hasn\u2019t already been done. If the idea still seems new and exciting, look for ways to shop your idea around with teachers, parents and their children. You might even get more benefit out of testing the idea with others if you share it with folks who aren\u2019t your friends and family. Ask for their criticisms and then give them serious consideration.<\/p>\n

Writing a picture book? Read these guidelines<\/a> for choosing a high quality math picture book and then evaluate how the book you want to write can meet those.<\/p>\n

As a former library employee, I can attest to the large volume of children\u2019s books that are out in the world already. For every book that becomes a timeless favorite, such as Eric Carle\u2019s The Very Hungry Caterpillar<\/em>, there are many more that languish unread. Yet I would also argue that math is overdue for more kids\u2019 books that will be cherished, unforgettable or even life-changing.<\/p>\n

Have advice or ideas to share? Comment below or share them with me on Twitter @writesRCrowell.<\/a><\/p>\n

Editor’s note: This post was updated on 11\/29\/2019 to include the information about\u00a0Eriko Hironaka’s 2016 post for the AMS “Book Ends” blog.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Kids\u2019 math books: I\u2019m not talking about textbooks, but rather cheerful math-themed picture books parents might give to wide-eyed, excited kids as holiday gifts, books that take math-obsessed kids on journeys to learning thrilling new math outside the walls of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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