Fractions in Disguise

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY DEC 23, 2013

Einhorn, who addressed probability in A Very Improbable Story, explains simplifying fractions in this whimsical, if sometimes convoluted addition to the Charlesbridge Math Adventures series. The dorkily dapper narrator, a sort of fractions-loving cousin to Richie Rich, explains that he's been collecting fractions represented by pie graphs mounted on pedestals "for exactly 2/3 of my life." When a 5/9 comes up for auction, he bids "1/2 of a million dollars," but a competing bidder steals the object when the lights go out during the auction. George uses a whisk and computer parts to make a Reducer, a device that is "1/2 ray gun and 1/2 calculator" and can reduce a fraction to its lowest form, thereby removing its "disguise." The boy visits the thief's castle and zaps his collection of fractions in hopes of finding one that reduces to 5/9. Featuring several characters reminiscent of Ronald Searle's caricatures, Clark's (Higgins Hole) ink-and-watercolor cartoons build on the story's humor, and Einhorn works hard to give the story a sense of drama, but wordy explanations of reducing sap some of the momentum. Ages 7 10.