The Adventures of Ruby Pi and the Geometry Girls: Teen Heroines in History Use Geometry, Algebra, and Other Mathematics to Solve Colossal Problems

by Tom Durwood, Sandra Uve (Foreword by)

Overview

Mocked and hounded by the other candy-stripers, Simone proves her worth when an enemy tank explodes the quiet of a French field hospital near Montcornet (May, 1940). An encrypted code holds the secret to a flaw in the tank's design. Boom ! Can Simone break the code in time?

Young Shawnee Smith speaks truth to power when one of the world's great citizens visits her Florida home. Her idea can change the fate of her people. But will anyone listen?

Teen heroines in history use geometry, algebra and other mathematics to solve colossal problems.

"Brilliant ..." Julie Porter, Bookworm Reviews

"We must teach mathematics from different points of view and different perspectives, as Tom has done in this collection of stories." -- Sandra Uve, Author "SuperMujeres, SuperInventoras," from her Foreword

"Wonderful reads ... an invaluable addition to any library. These stories represent the missing link between math entertainment and education that young learners have long needed." -- Diane Donovan, Editor, Bookwatch

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781952520280
Publisher:	Empire Studies Press
Publication date:	12/22/2022
Series:	Ruby Pi Adventure Series , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	172
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Tom Durwood is a teacher, writer and editor with an interest in history. Tom most recently taught English Composition and Empire and Literature at Valley Forge Military College, where he won the Teacher of the Year Award five times. Tom has taught Public Speaking and Basic Communications as guest lecturer for the Naval Special Warfare Development Group at the Dam's Neck Annex of the Naval War College.Tom's ebook Empire and Literature matches global works of film and fiction to specific quadrants of empire, finding surprising parallels. Literature, film, art and architecture are viewed against the rise and fall of empire. In a foreword to Empire and Literature, postcolonial scholar Dipesh Chakrabarty of the University of Chicago calls it "imaginative and innovative." Prof. Chakrabarty writes that "Durwood has given us a thought-provoking introduction to the humanities." His subsequent book "Kid Lit: An Introduction to Literary Criticism" has been well-reviewed. "My favorite nonfiction book of the year," writes The Literary Apothecary (Goodreads).Early reader response to Tom's historical fiction adventures has been promising. "A true pleasure ... the richness of the layers of Tom's novel is compelling," writes Fatima Sharrafedine in her foreword to "The Illustrated Boatman's Daughter." The Midwest Book Review calls that same adventure "uniformly gripping and educational ... pairing action and adventure with social issues." Adds Prairie Review, "A deeply intriguing, ambitious historical fiction series."Tom briefly ran his own children's book imprint, Calico Books (Contemporary Books, Chicago). Tom's newspaper column "Shelter" appeared in the North County Times for seven years. Tom earned a Masters in English Literature in San Diego, where he also served as Executive Director of San Diego Habitat for Humanity.Two of Tom's books, "Kid Lit" and "The Illustrated Boatman's Daughter," were selected "Best of the New" by Julie Sara Porter's Bookworm Book Alert 2021.
Sandra Uve, author of "Superwomen, Superinventors: Brilliant Ideas that Transformed our Lives" has agreed to write a 400-word Foreword to The Math Girls.An exhibit based on Sandra's book about female inventors from history has been shown at more than 200 libraries and museums such as Caixaforum Zaragoza, Palma, Girona, Tarragona and Lleida. The Commonwealth of Pamplona hosted "Discovering Women Scientists" in 2021, and that same year, the Gerència de Serveis de Biblioteques de la Diputació de Barcelona produced an exhibition by Sandra, Dones de la Mar, about marine biologists and environmental activists.

Table of Contents

1. Ruby Pi and the Case of the Old Carthusians - A young Indian engineering student in Victorian London uncovers a thirty-year old schoolboy pact. Crumbling cathedrals hide a buried mystery

2. Simone and the Mean Girls - Teen nurses encounter the most powerful tank ever built at a field hospital in rural France. The Battle of Montcornet (May 17, 1940) begins. A Candy Striper squares off with a Konigstiger tank

3. Isoke and the Architect - Young Isoke and her brothers attend the Igue festival, intent on buying a bull calf for their village. They bravely thwart an assassination attempt on Queen Nala. The Queen makes Isoke a gift of books, and the consequences change Benin history. Geometry for a Warrior Queen

4. Yan Li and the Numerators - In the summer of 1958, farm girl Yan Li joins the mathematics team assembled to implement the Great Leap Forward. What she finds is far from 'great' ... Clouds in the Forecast

5. Shawnee and the Visitor - An enterprising young economist in Florida of 1967 shows Martin Luther King and Bayard Rustin something to change their way of thinking. Regression analysis for equality

Editorial Reviews

Math is not only about formulas and graphs. It's about its applications and illustrations. Tom has delivered 10 stories which ingeniously weave math into adventure stories. This intriguing book breaks the glass ceiling which prevents our young female students from pursuing STEM studies.

--Darshan Maheshwari, Math and Physics Teacher

"Ruby Pi and the Geometry Girls" is one of a collection of must -read stories for readers of all ages who want to understand the value and some of the magic of mathematics. Tom's writing will keep you engaged. To especially those young readers who ask why we study STEM, get ready for a most surprising read. I was not expecting the cipher!! Teaching is my passion, and story- and game-based education are very near to my heart. Your storytelling is good. The footnotes at the end of the story are very helpful. It is a nice addition.

-- Aditya Soni, Game developer and Educator

Tom's stories are colorful, surprising and thrilling!! I could not stop reading until the mysteries were solved !! Rupa and her sister heroines are true role-models who face pulp-fiction dilemmas and solve them ... by applying math!! An inspiration for all young women interested in STEM.

History, drama and math make for an exciting adventure ... Tom communicates a love for math.

-- Tommaso Pettinari, Physicist, Code developer

From the Publisher