New children’s counting book has a Rice theme

A new children’s book uses details about Rice for lessons on how to count from 1 to 12.

The second in a five-book series for children, “Count on Rice” is available at the Rice Campus Store, online and at Fondren Library.

Authored by Robin Ward, clinical assistant professor and director for curriculum integration for the Rice University School Mathematics Project, and published by Mascot Books, the hardcover book “Count on Rice: Fun Facts From 1 to 12” allows the reader to count from 1 to 12 while exploring the passage of time through the 12 months and four seasons.

Rice-themed details like the number of school colors, the number of residential colleges and the number of sides in the Academic Quad serve as examples for counting, and a drawing of the Owl mascot appears as many times on a page as the corresponding number in the counting lesson.

Readers can also discover and distinguish odd and even numbers, and illustrations in the book represent scenes around campus and Rice’s history. The book closes with two coloring pages.

Ward came up with the idea after stumbling upon an alphabet book themed after Texas Christian University.

“Upon seeing the book, I thought to myself that there ought to be a comparable book that features counting,” Ward said. “I submitted my book idea to the same publisher, and thus ‘Count on TCU: Fun Facts from 1 to 12’ came to be.”

She followed with “Count on Rice” and has since published versions for the University Arizona, Villanova University and the University of Virginia.

Ward has written numerous articles and book chapters on the topic of using children’s literature in the teaching of K-8 mathematics. She is also the author of several other books, including, “Math Art Fun: Teaching Kids to See the Magic and Multitude of Mathematics in Modern Art” and “Numeracy and Literacy: Teaching K-8 Mathematics Using Children’s Literature.”

The second in a five-book series for children, “Count on Rice” is available at the Rice Campus Store, online and at Fondren Library.