Math + Literature =
2019 Mathical Book Prize Winners!

From the inspiring true stories of the Apollo 8 astronauts and a pioneering woman mathematician to tales of a middle school girl struck by lightning and a young elephant who loves to build towers of wooden bricks, this year’s Mathical Book Prize winners offer young readers a glimpse of the exciting—and sometimes unexpected—ways that mathematical ideas fit into the world around them.

The Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) announced the 2019 winners today of the Mathical Book Prize, which recognizes outstanding fiction and literary nonfiction for youth ages 2-18. The announcement took place at the Critical Issues in Mathematics Education conference, where math educators discussed strategies for incorporating literary works with mathematical content into primary and secondary school curricula.The Mathical Prize, now in its fifth year, is selected annually by a committee of PreK-12 teachers, librarians, mathematicians, early childhood experts, and others. This year’s honorees include the following:

For Pre-Kindergarten, the Mathical Award Winner is Crash! Boom! A Math Tale, by Robie H. Harris (Candlewick Press).

For Grades K-2, the Mathical Award Winner is Nothing Stopped Sophie: The Story of Unshakable Mathematician Sophie Germain, by Cheryl Bardoe (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers).

For Grades 3-5, the Mathical Award Winner is The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, by Stacy McAnulty (Random House Children’s Books).

For Grades 6-8, the Mathical Award Winner is To the Moon! The True Story of the American Heroes on the Apollo 8 Spaceship, by Jeffrey Kluger and Ruby Shamir (Philomel Books for Young Readers).

The Mathical Book Prize is awarded by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI), in partnership with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and in coordination with the Children’s Book Council (CBC).

Selected winning titles are distributed to children in need in the Bay Area with the support of First Book and the Firedoll Foundation, who have also underwritten the creation of reading guides for families. The Mathical list is intended as a resource for educators, parents, librarians, children, and teens. To view the full list of Mathical titles, visit mathicalbooks.org.