The Math Kids: An Artificial Test

The Math Kids are off on another adventure. Catherine and Justin’s fathers have developed a new application to help solve difficult problems. They are flying on Mr. Howell’s jet to London, England, to demonstrate their new application to possible buyers. As a thank you to the Math Kids for helping him find his stolen money, Mr. Howell has asked Stephanie, Justin, Catherine and Jordan to travel with their parents to London, then tour the city and surrounding areas with Bobby, a real-life bobby, as their guide. In London, a police officer is called a bobby.

On the flight over, Aimee, their flight attendant, serves their meals and attends to their needs while giving them bits of information about the places they will visit. English may be the common language, but many terms are very different. Did you know that if you compliment someone’s pants in England, you are complimenting their underwear?

On arrival, everyone heads for their hotel to unpack and get ready for their first adventure. It becomes apparent that there is heightened security due to possible terrorist activity, but Bobby assures everyone there is no cause to worry. The Math Kids are off to see Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guards. Along with many other tourists, everyone enjoys the pageantry. They find out that the term for police, bobby, was started by former Prime Minister Robert Peel way back in 1829. Next, they are off to Bletchley Park, a mansion that housed the Government Code and Cypher School. The Math Kids were very interested in the Bombe machine, the Enigma Machine and how the WRENS, the Women’s Royal Naval Services, sat in Hut 11 twenty-four hours a day working with these amazing machines decrypting Nazi war messages. Stephanie, Justin, Catherine and Jordan love working with codes and decrypting and have used those skills to solve so many of their Math Clubs problems. They have also used them for solving mysteries and problems that they have worked on with the police back home.

Bobby and his charges visit many places over the next few days, including the Tower of London and the London Eye, where they get stuck at the very top. Looking down from that height, they can see many police vehicles, meaning something was up with the terrorist threats they had heard of when they first arrived. But again, Bobby assures everyone that they are in no danger. They find Stonehenge, Westminster Cathedral and the Houses of Parliament all amazing, but it soon becomes clear that there truly is a serious threat of terrorism in the area. The Math Kids begin to pull information together and are enlisted by Bobby and his girlfriend, Roberta, an officer with MI6, to break the coded messages in time to stop what they think will be the theft of the Crown Jewels. Because of the danger, the kids are being sent home early and are told to stay in their rooms until they head for the airport. Disappointed and sad because they haven’t had time to solve the mystery of who the terrorists are and what they want, they suddenly realize they might still have time to accomplish at least part of their goal.

As always, author David Cole has written a flawless novel for young readers. Throughout the novel, Cole includes math problems for the fearless Math Kids but gives the reader the chance to solve them as well. Teachers using these novels in their own classrooms can use the problems in their math classes for a challenge. The problems encourage students to think differently, develop more advanced skills and feel the pride of solving challenging problems in a group setting where everyone’s voice can be heard. The appendix at the end of this novel is full of interesting information and hints on how to solve the problems given in the novel. There are also preview pages of the next novel in the “Math Kids” series. The Math Kids: An Artificial Test is a novel that can be read just for fun or for enrichment in mathematics.