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The Five Sides of Marjorie Rice: How to Discover a Shape
CCBC Review:
Marjorie Rice’s childhood fascination with patterns and science persisted into her adulthood, though caring for her five children left her with little time to explore her interests. Reading her son’s July 1975 issue of Scientific American one day, however, she became engrossed in Martin Gardner’s column Mathematical Games, in which Gardner described the age-old puzzle of pentagrammic tiles forming tessellations. Intrigued by the concepts of art and math combining in an endless jigsaw puzzle, Marjorie wondered about the five known designs of five-sided tiles. When the following month’s column announced that a sixth design had been discovered, Marjorie began puzzling for more. While not a professional mathematician, Marjorie used her own ideas about nature and patterns to create several new convex tiling pentagons over the course of the next 20 years. She was eventually recognized by the Mathematical Association of America for her brilliant amateur contributions. Every detail of this well-designed picture book biography brings to life Marjorie’s interest and exploration of nature and patterns. Creative, colorful layouts explain mathematical concepts without interfering with the engaging narrative. For example, on one two-page spread Marjorie and her cat contemplate a pentagon, number the corners, and then manipulate the design to show how the shapes fit together. Informative end matter includes an Author’s Note and additional resources. ©2026 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Anna Bron
CCBC Age Recommendation: 8-12
Age Range:
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
Art and Artists
Biography
Creativity
Girls and Women
Math and Mathematicians
Observation
Problem-Solving
Science and Scientists
Shapes (Concept)
Publisher:
Candlewick
Publish Year: 2025
Pages: 48
ISBN: 9781536229479
CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 510 Alznauer