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I'm Trying to Love Math
Children's Choice Award winner Bethany Barton applies her signature humor to the scariest subject of all: math!
Do multiplication tables give you hives? Do you break out in a sweat when you see more than a few numbers hanging out together? Then I'm Trying to Love Math is for you! In her signature hilarious style, Bethany Barton introduces readers to the things (and people) that use math in amazing ways -- like music, and spacecraft, and even baking cookies! This isn't a how-to math book, it's a way to think differently about math as a necessary and cool part of our lives!
Do multiplication tables give you hives? Do you break out in a sweat when you see more than a few numbers hanging out together? Then I'm Trying to Love Math is for you! In her signature hilarious style, Bethany Barton introduces readers to the things (and people) that use math in amazing ways -- like music, and spacecraft, and even baking cookies! This isn't a how-to math book, it's a way to think differently about math as a necessary and cool part of our lives!
40 pages, Hardcover
First published July 2, 2019
10 people are currently reading
340 people want to read
About the author
Bethany Barton
11 books65 followersartist/author/illustrator. superpowers include freckles & a loud laugh.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
August 23, 2019
Math is all around us. In the cookies we bake, to the cars we travel in, to the launching of a spacecraft, to the circumference of a pizza. Math is part of life. In a humorous manner, Barton introduces the many ways we use math every day. The illustrations are busy, filled with speech bubbles and numbers. This is a nice method to strike up curiosity about a subject only 60% of people like. I recommend this book for elementary students.
May 20, 2021
Featured in a grandma reads session.
"Mathematics, in a sense, is logic let loose in the field of the imagination."
-Margaret Wertheim
"Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater."
- Albert Einstein
A fantastic book with everything from recipes, to Pythagoras, music, pizza, guitars, space ships and a 3-eyed alien who is in an extremely earnest conversation with the reader. Yep. He breaks the fourth wall completely and is assuming the reader is a totally reluctant mather, and the book moves forward from there.
It worked for us because in our group lurks a couple of very reluctant mathers. . . .so I was more than happy to do this book, and even engaged my listeners to be the readers. The kids always listen a little more tightly when they themselves are the readers-out-loud. And that's a bucket of fun for me.
"Mathematics, in a sense, is logic let loose in the field of the imagination."
-Margaret Wertheim
"Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater."
- Albert Einstein
A fantastic book with everything from recipes, to Pythagoras, music, pizza, guitars, space ships and a 3-eyed alien who is in an extremely earnest conversation with the reader. Yep. He breaks the fourth wall completely and is assuming the reader is a totally reluctant mather, and the book moves forward from there.
It worked for us because in our group lurks a couple of very reluctant mathers. . . .so I was more than happy to do this book, and even engaged my listeners to be the readers. The kids always listen a little more tightly when they themselves are the readers-out-loud. And that's a bucket of fun for me.
February 22, 2019
Who knew a little purple ET could teach so much about math? Not only does he float down in his saucer to help the narrator understand its importance, but explains its history and how math is all around us-- even in nature! The things we do, from baking, to traveling, to... well, anything, all has math involved somehow! Even if you aren't the best with numbers, you will be charmed by this informative book.
July 12, 2019
This book would be great for a classroom teacher to use as a fun way to prepare students for a difficult new math lesson! I think that picture books are great for all ages, so the possibilities here are endless. For my own sake, I wish there was also a title called I'm Trying to Love Science!
July 23, 2019
Age: 1st-3rd grade
STEM: Math
Nip that arithmophobia in the bud with this nerve-soothing primer on our math-filled world. Spoiler alert: it's everywhere--even in your cookies!
I love that Barton has created a series of books that seek to "decriminalize" things that our culture may collectively dislike, include spiders, bees, and, now, math.
STEM: Math
Nip that arithmophobia in the bud with this nerve-soothing primer on our math-filled world. Spoiler alert: it's everywhere--even in your cookies!
I love that Barton has created a series of books that seek to "decriminalize" things that our culture may collectively dislike, include spiders, bees, and, now, math.
July 2, 2019
I loved this book (even though I really don't love math)! :)
July 10, 2019
This friendly, illustrated guide to a scary subject shows that even though many people don't like studying math in school, we could not live orderly or fulfilling lives without it. Math helps us bake! It's a universal language! We experience its beauty through music, and through nature! I have learned to love math after years of frustration, and I hope that this will help lots of kids see its beauty sooner than I did.
March 14, 2020
My daughter (10) hates math. It's been a real struggle for her, probably because much of the rote learning in elementary school clashes with her free spirited nature. However, she wants to be either an ecologist or a zoologist, so I keep telling her she needs to learn math to do it. Then I found this book. It's got cute pictures, silly but clever dialogue, and it points out the benefits of math and how we use it everyday life apparently way better than I did. Now, while she still doesn't love math, she does her homework with greater gusto, and she's read this book a couple of times. My son (8) loves math and loves this book so much he keeps it by his bed and often reads it at night before going to sleep.
September 8, 2019
Love Bethany Barton's picture books - they have great humor tied into the learning, and fun illustrations. I was not expecting math to be the next topic after spiders and bees, but it was an interesting twist to what I expect from her books. Will definitely add to the library collection.
Want to read
January 29, 2022Text-to- self connection
I came across this book and the first thing I thought was ''Dang I needed to read this when I was younger''. Math is not may strong suit, it's always been an area that I struggled deeply within. So taking a look at the book, it helped provided same amazing examples of math. They shared that math is like something we work on daily. We can memorize it by making songs out of it. Learning and understanding that we use math every day. My goal as a teacher is to help students learn and enjoy learning in every area. It may be hard but choose your hard and keep going anyway.
I came across this book and the first thing I thought was ''Dang I needed to read this when I was younger''. Math is not may strong suit, it's always been an area that I struggled deeply within. So taking a look at the book, it helped provided same amazing examples of math. They shared that math is like something we work on daily. We can memorize it by making songs out of it. Learning and understanding that we use math every day. My goal as a teacher is to help students learn and enjoy learning in every area. It may be hard but choose your hard and keep going anyway.
July 2, 2019
Super cute picture book showing all of the important roles math plays in our every day life. For grades K & up.
July 10, 2019
The story of my life....
November 21, 2019
I truly adored this book. As someone who grew up not caring for math, this book was a very fun and engaging read! The art + humor of the book is delightful, and the conversation between the alien (from Planet Homework?!? ewwwww) and the books narrator who is convinced that math is the worst is fun and enlighting, especially as the narrator is exposed to the various ways that math makes up the world in small ways that prove to be useful and not as scary as one might think! recommended for kiddos between 4-8, though honestly, it's charming and can be enjoyed by adults who hate math ;)
June 28, 2019
Really fun answer to the question many kids ask about why math is necessary for daily life. Cartoon illustrations and humorous tone are delightful and the message under it all really works in its understated way. Great for STEM and all classrooms too.
October 22, 2019
I love Bethany Barton. Her books are funny, entertaining, and engaging. And, as an adult, if you ask the right questions after read aloud, her books can also prompt wonderful discussions. This one isn't quite as great as I'm Trying To Love Spiders, but it's well worth a read.
September 10, 2025
Review:
I removed a star as there was so much information that it wasn’t as fun of a read for me (and I personally enjoy math).
This might be a good storytime read for older kids, unless they’d likely get overloaded by information. It was kind of funny and could be more fun with an energetic reader. It was cool to see how many different basic things that everyone knows/knows about use math though!
Summary:
What's so great about math? Let's show this alien that there are much better things on earth than that...
I removed a star as there was so much information that it wasn’t as fun of a read for me (and I personally enjoy math).
This might be a good storytime read for older kids, unless they’d likely get overloaded by information. It was kind of funny and could be more fun with an energetic reader. It was cool to see how many different basic things that everyone knows/knows about use math though!
Summary:
What's so great about math? Let's show this alien that there are much better things on earth than that...
December 19, 2019
Love the "math is all around you" theme and the sentence that "math is a understood all over the earth, no matter what language people speak." which is how I understood calculus when I lived in South America before I learned to speak Spanish!
July 7, 2019
Love this one!
November 13, 2020
Math and I don't always get along. However, maybe it is Arithmetic that I really don't love. With the patterns and everything, some of math really is kind of pretty.
July 20, 2019
Another attempt to convey that math is essential and relates to most of life. Trying to convince the 40% to love math. Mixed success.
July 3, 2019
This will be a fun one to kick off the year!
December 11, 2019
Some great context here, but not as convincing on the reasons we should love math other than we use it all the time.
July 2, 2019
Cute book ... but I still don't like {anything more than basic} math, LOL
July 15, 2019
Cute book!
July 8, 2019
I'm pretty sure this book didn't make me love math, but it sure was fun to read about it! And as always, Barton will make you laugh as you read along!
February 2, 2020
I’m Trying to Love Math by Bethany Barton. PICTURE BOOK. Viking (Penguin Random House), 2019. $18. 9780451480903
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
The narrator of this book is sure that he does not love math. An alien responds to the narrator explaining all the great ways math shows up in the world. It shows up in music and baking and nature. The narrator decides that since math is a part of so many things he already loves, he probably loves math too.
This book is at a slight disadvantage because I’m Trying to Love Spiders was such a good book and this one follows the same style and aesthetic, but just isn’t quite as fun. It is interesting in its own right and would be a fun addition to a math classroom.
Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
The narrator of this book is sure that he does not love math. An alien responds to the narrator explaining all the great ways math shows up in the world. It shows up in music and baking and nature. The narrator decides that since math is a part of so many things he already loves, he probably loves math too.
This book is at a slight disadvantage because I’m Trying to Love Spiders was such a good book and this one follows the same style and aesthetic, but just isn’t quite as fun. It is interesting in its own right and would be a fun addition to a math classroom.
Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
August 21, 2019
Part of the 40% here. Okay, hate is a strong word; let's go with a very strong feeling. I try to encourage Madam, and she is very good at Math. Whenever she talks down about Math, I try to build her up and compare it to another language, though secretly it's a VERY difficult language for me and I feel very vexed sometimes when it comes to certain Maths. *sigh*
Did this book help? Not really. Did it make me want cookies and pizza and pie? Yep. Was it cute and funny? Yep.
Did this book help? Not really. Did it make me want cookies and pizza and pie? Yep. Was it cute and funny? Yep.
September 25, 2019
I really enjoy this series--This one is cute and very much appreciated! As a more "right-brained" person and in a more artistic family/community, I'm used to lots of "math is hard" and "I'm bad at math" mentalities. But math is awesome, not awful at all, and you can do so much with it! Not sure what ages I would read this with, since some of the concepts (pi, fractions, etc) are more advanced than preschool level (though dealt with in a playful way).
January 3, 2020
While I have a distaste for people saying they are "not a math person," this book does come with good humor. I like the idea of imagining Barton's authentic use of bamboo purchased in Singapore to do the lettering. I do think that I like Scieszka's Math Curse more, although maybe because I used that in the classroom several times, and had my students write their own Science Curse before Scieszka came out with his own!
August 8, 2019
Clever and fun. I think this could be part of a math-phobic storytime, along with the beloved classic Math Curse.
Thanks to Penguin Young Readers for the review copy.
Thanks to Penguin Young Readers for the review copy.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews