Calculator Riddles

by David A. Adler, Cynthia Fisher (Illustrator)

Overview

Answers to riddles are found by solving related math problems and turning the calculator upside down.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823412693
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	01/01/1995
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	7.84(w) x 7.84(h) x 0.34(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

David A. Adler is the author of many popular books for children, including biographies, math books, and Judaica. His strong interest in history and biography led to his bestselling Picture Book Biography series. He lives in New York State with his wife and family.

Cynthia Fisher is a mosaic artist with a studio in Western Massachusetts. A children’s book illustrator for fifteen years, Cynthia took her first mosaic class several years ago and now creates custom installations, public art projects and one of a kind mosaic panel art with a contemporary spin. She also teaches workshops and conducts school residencies.

Editorial Reviews

Viewed upside down, most of the numbers on a calculator's display look like letters. For years, children have been spelling words with hand-held calculators, but Adler takes the game a step further. He poses a series of riddles, each accompanied by an arithmetic problem involving some combination of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Solve the math problem with a calculator, turn the calculator upside down, and you have the answer to the riddle. Ink drawings with gray washes set a humorous tone, but these aren't the funniest riddles around. Still, children playing around with calculators may find the book's novelty reason enough to pursue the answers.

From the Publisher

Gr 3-6-``It's strange. These come in many different sizes but they are always exactly one foot long.'' What's the answer? You figure it out by doing the following problem using your calculator: 53 x 40 x 5 + 9 x 5=? The mathematical answer is 53045. But how does that help solve the riddle? To find the answer, turn your calculator upside down and you will see the word ``shoes.'' There are 45 similar entries and many are so unexpected that youngsters will shout with laughter. Once they try the first one, they'll be hooked and won't rest until they've worked out every one. Adler begins with an excellent introduction on how to play the calculator riddle game and ends with a page of answers. Fisher's black-and-white cartoon illustrations provide marvelous humor. A worthwhile addition by any calculation.-Suzanne Hawley, Laurel Oak Elementary School, Naples, FL

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