A math journey through planet Earth

For students who wonder when they'll ever use the math skills they learn, check out the Go Figure! series. Each title introduces a challenge that requires real-world math. Twelve missions explain a math concept, followed by related word problems. In A Math Journey through Planet Earth, readers are leaders of an ecological expedition exploring regions of the world affected by natural events, climate change, and human activity. They use such math skills as division to calculate the rate at which glaciers are melting in the Himalayan Mountains and deciphering pictograms to understand the monsoon season in the Philippines. With each book featuring a different set of concepts, the series offers a wide range of activities (as well as concluding answers).--Leeper, Angela Copyright 2015 Booklist

Gr 5-8-Readers are invited to apply varied math lessons to hypothetical life or work situations, such as heading up an ecological expedition or space mission, working as an animal scientist, or conducting a study of the human body. Page one of each colorful entry features a section called "Learn About It," with explanations and examples of math operations, including addition and subtraction, fractions and decimals, time, quadrants and coordinates, an assortment of tables and graphs, and much more. On the second page, "Go Figure!" poses several questions or problems for applying the lesson. Varying in difficulty level, these are introductions that could also work as review exercises or enjoyable explorations for students who like math. They might even invite further thinking about interesting possibilities for future careers. Fun, sometimes challenging additions. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.