BOOK REVIEW-"A GEBRA NAMED AL"

Book Review: "A Gebra Named Al"

Book Review: "A Gebra Named Al"

Wendy Isdell's "A Gebra Named Al" is a very enjoyable and entertaining trip through the Land of Mathematics. She brings many ideas from math and chemistry to life in creative ways, cementing these concepts in the mind of the prepared reader along the way. This book, and its sequel "The Chemy Called Al," are most accessible to the reader who already has a foundation in math and chemistry. Familiarity with these basic concepts allows the reader to appreciate fully their well-crafted physical representations.

Wendy Isdell began writing her first book, A Gebra Named Al, when she was in the eighth grade. She entered the story in the Virginia Young Author's Contest of 1989, where it won first place in the Rappahannock regional competition and went on to capture first place at the state level. She sent her story to Free Spirit Publishing in 1992, and it was published in 1993, when Wendy was a senior in high school. Scientific and mathematical information contained in the book was gathered from several classes Wendy took over the years, including Advanced Physical Science and Algebra 1 and 2; advanced classes in Earth Science, Chemistry, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Analytical Geometry; and Advanced Placement Chemistry.

Julie hates algebra - until she meets a gebra named Al. Julie keeps getting the wrong answer to what looks like a simple problem: -5 + 3 (6). Frustrated, she gives up, rests her head on her book...and is awakened by an Imaginary Number who suddenly appears in her room. When she follows the Number through a mysterious portal, she enters the Land of Mathematics, where the Orders of Operations are real places and fruits that look like Bohr models grow on chemistrees. With Al and his friends - ...