The Solvers Mission 1: The DivMulti Ray Dilemma does new math proud

Remember the “new math” joke from a couple of years ago? Parents of elementary school-age students realized that division and multiplication had a slightly different way of being taught. It’s not “new” per se, it’s just described using the commutative property, which is also a very quick way to learn craps. The Solvers is an interactive graphic novel series that entertains and educates. The DivMulti Ray Dilemma is the first in the series that manages to explain division and multiplication in a way that new and old math people can understand and does so with a strong superhero story that will guide those reluctant math readers.

OK, we made up that last term, but those students do exist. I’ve seen students that know math, but are reluctant to look beyond what they know, even though they’re capable of it. Reluctant readers are much more common and are easily identified by their lack of desire to read. Those latter folks are normally quelled by graphic novels, comic books or other highly engaging text that they thought didn’t exist.

But, an entertaining and educational graphic novel about math, what’chu talking bout Willis? The Solvers opens up with a very quick introduction to the superheroes and how their powers came to be. Three kids were in the park when the arithmetic meteor crashed which gave them powers. Leo became Animal Jr., Shani became Cloud Tamer, and Moe now is known as Zipper. With the power to speak to animals, meld clouds into whatever shapes are required and super speed the three were also granted to powers to solve math equations at an even quicker rate.

They’re mentored by Dr. Obelus, a scientist who invents things and intercedes with the group when needed. The Solvers are often accompanied by Duncan, a typical nine-year-old boy, and Rosy the Cat, a very smart feline who often uses the computer. Null Void is the big bad who fronts a group of villains who are intent on capturing the meteor for their own destructive purposes.

Dr. Obelus has invented a ray gun that can multiply or divide numbers of physical objects, depending on the dial’s setting. A thing like this would cause chaos if Null Void were to get their criminal hands on it. Duncan is quick to add why this is important, which leads the team to provide a basic introduction to multiplication. Factors times factors equals product, arrays, columns, multiples, and our friend that makes up a way for math to be easier, the commutative property of multiplication are given an overview.

The next chapter is all action with Null Void in the midst of a heist. When the team tries to stop him they’re able to do so by using multiplication. Unfortunately, the ray gun has two settings and they escape by setting it to division, which the team hasn’t learned yet. Next up is a chapter on the introduction of division, which is handled in much the same manner as the one on multiplication. As the danger gets more perilous the team is forced to take a crash course in advanced multiplication and advance division.

Each chapter is broken up in the table of contents and a color-coded title blurb. The blurb, with its title, like Advanced Division, is then placed in the lower right-hand corner of each relevant page. What will surprise those reluctant readers is that even when the book is in education mode it’s very entertaining. It’s in education mode so often that it’s an effortless read that helps those who know a little bit know more, and those who are just learning the process not be as scared of the content. As readers keep going they’ll see instances where The Solvers need help solving a math problem or two. In those cases, it’s worth getting your own paper and seeing if you can solve the problem in the same manner.

The Solvers is not a Rosetta Stone in getting elementary-age students to embrace and master math. It is a great tool that can certainly help those ages understand it better and faster. The graphic novel is fun to read and very entertaining. It also has countless examples of real-life math and why it’s needed to make the world go around. The elements of Batman 1966 humor help make what those reluctants will see as a bitter pill easier to swallow. However, when those ages take a realistic look at The DivMulti Ray Dilemma and are honest with themselves, they’ll see that this is as close to making math fun (for those who don’t already see it that way) as they’ve seen.

It’s even better than the Science Comics that we’ve enjoyed so much. The Solvers’ author, Jon Chad is himself behind Volcanoes and The Periodic Table of the Elements from that series. As good as that series is, it doesn’t have the action or as strong of a linear story as this graphic novel. By the end of the first entry in The Solvers I was looking forward to the next one that would hopefully have an arena of math that I wasn’t familiar with, like calculus or algebra. Most readers probably won’t have that feeling coming away from the graphic novel, but if they have a stronger understanding in division or multiplication that its work is done.

The Solvers Mission 1: The DivMulti Ray Dilemma is by Jon Chad and available on Workman Publishing, an imprint of Hachette Book Group.

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