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Are you the king, or are you the joker. Play math for young children. (English)
Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific (ISBN 978-981-270-404-7/pbk). xviii, 150~p. (2006).
This book is based on the author’s experiences in teaching his grandchildren mathematics through card games. There are six card games aimed at children in nursery school and pre-school; six card games for children in pre-school and the primary grades; and six card games for children in primary and higher primary grades. An appendix presents card game versions of the now classic car and goat problem [see, for example, {\it L. Gillman}, Am. Math. Mon. 99, No. 1, 3‒7 (1992; Zbl 0759.00002)]; Bertrand’s Box paradox; and the classic “Birthday Problem." This reviewer found a few minor issues that really don’t detract from the value of the book. First of all, multiplication is not repeated addition, although repeated addition can be modeled by multiplication. For example, how does one express the complex product $i \times i = -1$ as a repeated addition? Even a product such as $(3/8) \times (8/3) = 1$ requires some contortion to be viewed as a repeated addition. Finally, the definition of division as the inverse of multiplication is an algebraic one. Children view division as either partitive (sharing) or quotative (repeated subtraction).
Reviewer: Steven C. Althoen (Holly)
Classification: A91 A92 U61 U62