Bake Infinite Pie with X + Y by Eugenia Cheng
What's It About?
"This seemingly simple picture book is just the thing to whet appetites and spice up STEAM collections."―Booklist starred review“A charming — and appetizing — bit of didacticism.” ―Kirkus Reviews
Many kids find math intimidating and scary, but it doesn’t have to be.
Bake Infinite Pie with X + Y (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) by mathematician and author Eugenia Cheng and New York Times bestselling illustrator Amber Ren take STEM concepts and turn them on their heads with an activity that many kids already participate in and enjoy: baking.
This fun and colorful picture book, geared for ages four through eight, teaches kids the simple mathematics behind baking and reassures young readers that this subject can be easy, relatable to real-world experiences, and even fun.
In the story, the children characters X + Y are dreaming of baking infinite pie. But they don’t know infinite pie is real. With the help of quirky and uber-smart Aunt Z, and a whole lot of flour and butter, X and Y will learn that by using math they can bake their way to success.
The book features additional content, including explanations of the math concepts explored in the book, a recipe for Banana Butterscotch Pie and even a letter from Eugenia encouraging readers not to be intimidated by math. The book is perfect for young kids who are hesitant about mathematics and STEM.
Remarkably, Dr. Cheng manages to explain to children some rather advanced mathematical concepts, such as those commonly applied to fractals and polygons. “You might feel like you’re afraid of math because you’re not good at it, and you might feel like being afraid of it causes you to be no good at it,” says Dr. Cheng. “… I’d like to reassure you that it’s okay to be afraid of it because concepts like infinity can be daunting.”
“That’s the whole point,” she continues. “If we can get our heads around something daunting, then we’ve become more intelligent.”
