Fractions in Disguise: A Math Adventure

by Edward Einhorn, David Clark (Illustrator)

Overview

Equal parts action and humor add up to a wholly entertaining introduction to simplifying fractions, in this one-of-a-kind math picture book story.

When a valuable fraction goes missing, George Cornelius Factor (a.k.a. GCF) vows to track it down. Knowing that the villainous Dr. Brok likes to disguise his ill-gotten fractions, G.C.F. invents a Reducer—half ray gun, half calculator— that strips away the disguise, reducing the fraction to its lowest common denominator and revealing its true form. With the Reducer in hand, George seeks out Dr. Brok in hopes of retrieving the missing fraction.

David Clark’s illustrations are packed with humorous details as well as clearly defined fractions and their corresponding reduction equations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781570917745
Publisher:	Charlesbridge
Publication date:	03/25/2014
Series:	Charlesbridge Math Adventures Series
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	64,047
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	680L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Edward Einhorn is the author of A Very Improbable Story: A Math Adventure, as well as two Wizard of Oz sequels, The Living House of Oz and Paradox in Oz (Hungry Tiger Press, 2005 and 1999, respectively). Edward lives in New York City.

Read an Excerpt

Some kids collect baseball cards. Some collect action figures. Me? I collect fractions. I've been collecting them for exactly - of my life. In my bedroom, shelves full of fractions cover ¾ of my walls. Maybe it's because I was born during a half moon. Or maybe it's because I'm ¼ genius, ¼ stubborn, - determined, and - crazy. But for me, it all adds up to one thing: I can't get enough of those darn fractions.

Editorial Reviews

“Not only tackling fractions, but simplifying them, this fills a need and thoroughly entertains. George Cornelius Factor (G.C.F., get it?) collects fractions. But he’s not alone: Baron von Mathematik and Madame de Géométrique also covet the 5/8 that is newly up for auction. But the nefarious Dr. Brok, a master of disguise, steals it. He ‘can take a 1/2 and turn it into a 2/4 or a 3/6. It’s still the same fraction, but it looks different.’ George won't be deterred. He invents a Reducer-half ray gun, half calculator-that zaps fractions into their lowest terms and goes to Dr. Brok’s mansion to confront him and find the 5/8. A clever bit of detective work and a rousing action sequence later, and the 5/8 is back to its lowest terms and part of George’s collection. Throughout, Einhorn finds ways to humorously add fractions to his tale—the fraction lovers bid portions of $1 million, and Brok’s mansion is 1/10 of a mile tall—and painlessly describes the process of reducing them to their lowest terms. Backmatter summarizes the learning, though not as simply as the text. Clark’s ink-and-watercolor illustrations truly make the characters’ personalities shine. Dr. Brok looks something like professor Hinkle of Frosty the Snowman fame, while the pages simply ooze with the aura of a great mystery. No question—a large fraction of parents and teachers will be reaching for this.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“A playwright, Einhorn manages to keep up the dramatic tension between the intrepid hero and the sneering villain while slipping in bits of fraction-wrangling information along the way. Using a restrained palette, cartoonist Clark boosts the story’s comedy and its drama with his exaggerated portrayals of the characters and their actions. An appended page tells and shows how to reduce a fraction, an idea that even non-collectors may find useful. This amusing book could help lessen the all-too-common fear of fractions.”
—Booklist

“When the coveted 5/9 fraction is stolen from auction by the mysterious Dr. Brok, it is up to George Cornelius Factor to find the missing fraction and return it to its proper place . . . Although the mathematical procedure for simplifying fractions is provided in the illustrations, younger readers may need the assistance of an adult to fully grasp the concept. A closing ‘Reducing Fractions’ page includes step-by-step instructions for finding both the greatest and lowest common denominators to properly reduce fractions. A fun mathematical addition to library collections.”
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

03/01/2014
Gr 2–5—When the coveted 5/9 fraction is stolen from auction by the mysterious Dr. Brok, it is up to George Cornelius Factor to find the missing fraction and return it to its proper place. Knowing that Dr. Brok is notorious for disguising fractions (such as by turning 1/2 into 2/4 or 3/6), George invents the Reducer, a ray gun combined with a calculator, paper clips, whisk, and computer parts that reduces fractions to their lowest terms. Only after finding a missing sliver of Dr. Brok's 34/63 fraction (thus becoming 35/63) and turning on the Reducer does George-voila!-find the 5/9 fraction. Although the mathematical procedure for simplifying fractions is provided in the illustrations, younger readers may need the assistance of an adult to fully grasp the concept. A closing "Reducing Fractions" page includes step-by-step instructions for finding both the greatest and lowest common denominators to properly reduce fractions. A fun mathematical addition to library collections.—Meaghan Darling, Plainsboro Public Library, NJ

School Library Journal

12/23/2013
Einhorn, who addressed probability in A Very Improbable Story, explains simplifying fractions in this whimsical, if sometimes convoluted addition to the Charlesbridge Math Adventures series. The dorkily dapper narrator, a sort of fractions-loving cousin to Richie Rich, explains that he's been collecting fractions—represented by pie graphs mounted on pedestals—"for exactly 2/3 of my life." When a 5/9 comes up for auction, he bids "1/2 of a million dollars," but a competing bidder steals the object when the lights go out during the auction. George uses a whisk and computer parts to make a Reducer, a device that is "1/2 ray gun and 1/2 calculator" and can reduce a fraction to its lowest form, thereby removing its "disguise." The boy visits the thief's castle and zaps his collection of fractions in hopes of finding one that reduces to 5/9. Featuring several characters reminiscent of Ronald Searle's caricatures, Clark's (Higgins Hole) ink-and-watercolor cartoons build on the story's humor, and Einhorn works hard to give the story a sense of drama, but wordy explanations of reducing sap some of the momentum. Ages 7–10. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 2014-01-29
Not only tackling fractions, but simplifying them, this fills a need and thoroughly entertains. George Cornelius Factor (G.C.F., get it?) collects fractions. But he's not alone: Baron von Mathematik and Madame de Géométrique also covet the 5/8 that is newly up for auction. But the nefarious Dr. Brok, a master of disguise, steals it. He "can take a 1/2 and turn it into a 2/4 or a 3/6. It's still the same fraction, but it looks different." George won't be deterred. He invents a Reducer—half ray gun, half calculator—that zaps fractions into their lowest terms and goes to Dr. Brok's mansion to confront him and find the 5/8. A clever bit of detective work and a rousing action sequence later, and the 5/8 is back to its lowest terms and part of George's collection. Throughout, Einhorn finds ways to humorously add fractions to his tale—the fraction lovers bid portions of $1 million, and Brok's mansion is 1/10 of a mile tall—and painlessly describes the process of reducing them to their lowest terms. Backmatter summarizes the learning, though not as simply as the text. Clark's ink-and-watercolor illustrations truly make the characters' personalities shine. Dr. Brok looks something like professor Hinkle of Frosty the Snowman fame, while the pages simply ooze with the aura of a great mystery. No question—a large fraction of parents and teachers will be reaching for this. (Math picture book. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews