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Marco did okay in math. He could follow the complex blueprints provided to him, navigate the steps, and arrive at the answers that earned him a shiny grade near the front of the alphabet. That is, until middle school. As new and confusing letters started creeping into every question, Marco developed a problem. When a new figure ‘pops’ into his life, he is introduced to a fantastical world where numbers rule, where they live together in villages, engage in duels, build stadiums and cheer for their favorite team as players are flung through the air. Marco’s imagination runs wild as he develops new powers and hungers for more.

But everything is not as it seems. Join Marco, his annoying little sister Maggie, and his best friends Oliver and Liam (a math whiz and a conspiracy nut), as they discover this magical world is more real than they ever could have dreamt. And find out… Will Marco master the Numberfolk before the Numberfolk, very literally, master him?

More info: Marco the Great and the History of Numberville is the first installment in a fantastical adventure series that will have readers learning math and enjoying every minute of it. In addition, the text includes over 300 practice problems and solutions as well as access to an entire digital world allowing students to dive directly into Marco’s world with 40+ games to level-up their learning.

Marco the Great and the History of Numberville is a MathBait publication. The first installment in the series covers standards from 6th & 7th grade Prealgebra. The exact topics can be found at www.mathbait.com/marco-the-great.

Marco the Great has a 4th-6th grade reading level and was written for a middle school audience. However, it is a great option for younger students as well, either independently or read aloud. Throughout his journey, Marco encounters bullying which may be uncomfortable for younger readers. Parents may skip the related passages (pages 22, 60, and 112), if desired, for the given audience.

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MY REVIEW

When I was a young girl I LOVED math. Solving equations was my favorite thing to do. I remember when we would get our math book. I would go home, plop down on my bed, open to the first page and do way more than that day’s assignment. Numbers were fun. My friend. When I got to high school, I took as many math classes as I could. I thought, I can master the numbers. Conquer them. I came to a screeching halt. Algebra. Calculus. Statistics. What??? How could I not make the numbers do what I wanted?

After reading this book my biggest wish was that I had a teacher like SK Bennett. Oh the magical places we would go. The numbers we would vanquish. Marco was an imaginative young boy. But, not a math kid. Or so his teacher told his mother. Don’t worry about his passable grades. He just isn’t a math kid. At first she accepts this. But… what about college? A scholarship? He wouldn’t get one with passable grades. He needed high marks. She gets him a tutor and the magic begins. Mr. Pikake drew on Marco’s imagination, allowing him to see numbers in a new way. They had many battles and I loved how Marco’s confidence grew with each session.

The entire book is an equation. You know how each page is numbered at the bottom? Well, even that is an equation. And the book is designed to have you solve the problems with Marco. And Mr. Pikake is their to help you too. I admit I was a bit rusty at first. Had to dust off the brain pan and power it up. And then the magic happened for me too. I recalled my love of numbers and their importance in life.

 I Love this book. It’s a gold mine of learning and adventure. And some really great characters too. Looking for something different? A learning tool and an adventure rolled into one? Grab a copy and begin! X + Y = FUN.

5 STARS

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“You are misleading someone and telling them something that isn’t true.” “Why?” “What do you mean why? I don’t know why you’d do it, you shouldn’t!” For a child, understanding the intricate nature of lying, consequences, credibility, and mortality seems impossible. There is too much to understand before you can even begin to understand. Enter The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

In this tale, a young boy experiments with the ‘ding-dong-ditching’ of his day: screaming for help and laughing as the villagers come running only to find there is no real emergency. The lesson emerges when the boy encounters an actual threat but has used up all his good-will and trust, causing no one to heed to his calls.

It’s beautiful. Somehow in only a few pages, this story manages to help very young children understand the complicated topics some philosophers spend their entire career on. It unpacks a multifaceted issue into a bite-size takeaway that even a five year-old can grasp. When I lie it causes people to stop believing me, which can be very bad if I ever really need help.

Even better, it’s memorable. That is the power of a story. In Marco the Great and the History of Numberville I present middle school math concepts that are tricky for most students. Through imagery, analogies, and relatable situations, these same challenging ideas now feel obtainable and even intuitive, because a story is a powerful thing.

So next time you are looking to teach someone something new, tell them a story. Not only can it make understanding complex tasks accessible, it is also much more likely to stick in their brain and stay there.

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About Author SK Bennett:

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SK Bennett is an award-winning educator, instructional designer, mathematician, and homeschool mom of five. She spent years designing courses for top companies and institutions before deciding it was time to embrace her belief that learning should be fun and math should never be all about memorization and rote procedures. Inspired by her favorite stories, she set out to create Marco’s world -where learning is an adventure and math is never ever boring.

Author Links: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Purchase Link: Amazon