About
During lockdown, Scottish Teacher of the Year and maths-loving musician, Chris Smith along with a stellar group of his favourite mathsy folk came together virtually to create a musical collaboration in tribute to Tom Lehrer. The song and viral video became the catalyst for Mama Makes Books to create the maths picture book that no-one should be without, That’s Mathematics. That’s Mathematics is a fun, vibrant exploration of everyday maths for young children showing that maths is useful, interesting, and EVERYWHERE and published in paperback on Pi Day 2024. Children use maths every day, sometimes without even realising it– when they count, share, play, do sport, make cakes, or move to music. This book introduces real-life opportunities to develop mathematical understanding. Younger children can enjoy Tom Lehrer’s lyrics and Elīna Brasliņa’s joyful illustrations, picking up core maths language along the way. Advanced readers are encouraged to TRY THIS and EXPLORE THIS to deepen their maths knowledge. Includes activities on every page, notes for further discussion, a glossary, the cover doubles up as an accurate metric ruler and includes Tom Lehrer’s complete lyrics,. There are also supporting online activities to continue the fun and keep the learning going after the book is closed. Tom Lehrer is an American singer-songwriter, musician, satirist, mathematician, and all-round genius. In 1959, when at Harvard University, he performed his “completely pointless” but utterly breath-taking song The Elements, featuring all the elements in the Periodic Table. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) performed this song on TV in 2020 and called Lehrer the “cleverest and funniest man of the 20th century”. In 2020, Lehrer granted permission for anyone to use, perform or publish his lyrics.
