I’m Trying to Love Math

Barton’s droll follow-up to I’m Trying to Love Spiders begins with a clear-cut statement: “If you ask me, math is not very lovable.” Moreover, the narrator indicates, “4 in 10 Americans hate math.” At this, an adorable purple alien appears, asking a question—“Did you just use math to explain how much you don’t like it?”—that introduces the book’s conceit: wherever you go, there you math. And the alien is on to something—in loose pen-and-ink art, it describes the subject’s ability to bring people together, its contributions to music, navigation, and food. Math loathers may not be comforted as Barton shows the usefulness of both simple arithmetic and massive equations, but it becomes quite clear that the narrator and readers can’t help but run into the stuff (“Wait. Baking is just a bunch of math, isn’t it?”). A hilarious meta exploration of the ubiquity (like it or not) of mathematics. Ages 4–8. [em](July) [/em]