APRIL 2022 - AudioFile
A cheery musical introduction sets the tone for Kim Mai Guest’s animated narration of two children’s magical time with their aunt. X and Y’s pie-baking session with their Aunt Z becomes a lesson in math, cooking techniques, and confidence-boosting words of encouragement. Guest’s chirpy voice conveys the excitement and wonder that X and Y experience with baking and mathematical concepts. Guest’s sweet tones succeed in introducing math in a nonthreatening manner that will be appreciated by adults and children alike. There’s much to learn and try in this infinitely fun and educational listening experience. M.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
02/28/2022
When children X and Y begin dreaming of “infinite pie,” a family member suggests boundless combinations for baking and eating treats in this kid-friendly introduction to the concept. While X wants “an infinitely wide pie,” Y wants “an infinitely tall pie.” “How can we make infinite pie when it isn’t real?” the children muse. Luckily, their imaginative Aunt Z has some ideas, and the trio are soon mixing, rolling, cutting, folding, and baking their way through mathematical concepts including exponentials, fractals, Zeno’s paradox, and more (detailed in back matter). The mottled, uncluttered backgrounds of Ren’s ink and digital illustrations focus attention on warm-skinned, dark-haired X, Y, and Z, and the concept-forward pastries they cook up (for example, a Koch snowflake). Though readers would benefit from an initial definition of infinity, Cheng’s frequently lengthy, dialogue-driven text encourages curiosity about rather than fear of math. Back matter includes an author’s note and pie recipe. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
*"This seemingly simple picture book is just the thing to whet appetites and spice up STEAM collections."—Booklist, starred
"A charming—and appetizing—bit of didacticism."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Purchase where there is a need for more math resources that will address the needs of both primary and middle grade students."—School Library Journal
School Library Journal
03/01/2022
K-Gr 3—Cheng uses the act of pie baking to demonstrate mathematical concepts, specifically the idea that shaping and reshaping dough and fillings can produce an infinite number of results. Two children named X and Y join brainy Aunt Z in the kitchen, where they learn that combining butter, flour, and water is not only useful for making pastry, but also for observing a never-ending array of geometric forms, an expanding number of points and exponential layers. Cheery, playful illustrations and a tale based on yummy desserts will have some appeal to young readers, though the continual cutting of shapes gets repetitive. The story itself is rather bland. In addition, there's a disconnect between the main text, which is geared toward a young audience, and the substantial back matter, which includes an impressive introduction to sophisticated concepts such as Zeno's paradox, fractals, and convergent sequences. VERDICT Purchase where there is a need for more math resources that will address the needs of both primary and middle grade students.—Gloria Koster
APRIL 2022 - AudioFile
A cheery musical introduction sets the tone for Kim Mai Guest’s animated narration of two children’s magical time with their aunt. X and Y’s pie-baking session with their Aunt Z becomes a lesson in math, cooking techniques, and confidence-boosting words of encouragement. Guest’s chirpy voice conveys the excitement and wonder that X and Y experience with baking and mathematical concepts. Guest’s sweet tones succeed in introducing math in a nonthreatening manner that will be appreciated by adults and children alike. There’s much to learn and try in this infinitely fun and educational listening experience. M.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2021-12-03
Two light-skinned children named X and Y, apparently siblings, ask their brainy aunt, Z, to help them make the pies of their dreams.
X wants to make an infinitely wide pie, while Y imagines a pie that is infinitely tall. Aunt Z explains that “there are infinite different ways to make pastry” and guides the children through the steps of the recipe. When it’s time to roll out the dough, X makes a circle while Y makes a triangle. When they fill the pies, X chooses bananas “because the slices are round,” and Y opts for triangular strawberry slices. Once in the oven, the pies seem “to be taking infinitely long” to bake and smell “infinitely delicious,” and when they’re finished, they’re so scrumptious the kids want them to last forever. Luckily, Aunt Z knows a clever way to make “infinite pie.” She helps the children make yet more dough and shape it into fractals—the Apollonian gasket and the Koch snowflake—that have an infinite number of sides. In the process, Aunt Z explains mathematical concepts (further expounded in the backmatter) in accessible language, including the coordinate plane, combinatorics, polygons, and convergence. This discussion includes a fair amount of precalculus for readers who might not have mastered the times table as yet, but as Cheng says in her author’s note, “if we can get our heads around something daunting, then [we] become more intelligent.” After the baking is done, the characters have more pie than they can eat, but thankfully, they have “infinite friends to share it with.” The illustrations, done in ink and Photoshop, use clever visuals to bring the math lesson to life; for example, on one spread the pie ingredients zoom around the characters, the motion lines making the shape of the infinity symbol.
Not a page-turner but a charming—and appetizing—bit of didacticism. (notes, recipe) (Picture book. 5-10)
