The Math Kids

The Triangle Secret

David Cole, Shannon O’toole (Illustrator)

Common Deer Press (APR 1) Softcover $11.95 (184pp) 978-1-988761-62-6

In the latest entry in David Cole’s Math Kids series, math whizzes Jordan, Justin, Stephanie, and Catherine are swept up in highlevel intrigue as they unravel a particularly puzzling riddle.

When the tale begins, the fifth-grade sleuths are enjoying an average day, tackling numbers problems over ice cream. When their old friend Bob, an FBI agent, sends them a distress signal, they’re pulled into a mystifying case. A famed inventor has gone missing and is presumed dead; his hundred billion-dollar inheritance itan is up for grabs—as long as the cryptic clues that he left in his will can be solved.

As with other books in the series, the text furnishes plenty of goodhearted humor, smarts, and suspense. While the Math Kids pull off dizzying mathematical feats, they also remain relatable. They stuff themselves with sundaes, strive not to upset their parents, and make the most of time in and out of school. And entertaining math knowledge is peppered throughout the story, from the math-influenced art of Wassily Kandinsky and Beethoven to the many uses of Pascal’s triangle—the latter of which plays a key role in solving the mystery.

The Triangle Secret builds to a beat-the-clock finale, with the story taking our heroes from Egypt to Washington, DC, as they mix it up with international agents and suspicious lawyers. Shannon O’toole’s illustrations are as charming as ever, even as they cover an impressive range of locations, from the nighttime back alleys of Cairo to a nail-biting sequence on a train.

The book concludes with a helpful appendix with further details about the math theories and famous people mentioned in it, proving once again that educational lessons can be presented in entertaining fashion. The Triangle Secret continues a streak of fun mystery adventures.