By Riya Chinni
Krystina Leganza, a college math professor and Carmel resident, recently released her first children’s book, “M is for Math.”
The book features animals and associated mathematical terms, corresponding to letters of the alphabet. Leganza said she was inspired by alphabet books with phrases like “A is for Apple” and wanted to apply this concept to math. For example, the book features sentences like “The chicken calculated the circumference of the circle” and “The hare hopped happily along the hypotenuse” to incorporate math into the book’s content and illustrations.
Leganza, who has taught math for the past 35 years, said the subject has always been fun for her.
“Some of my earliest memories, even before I ever went to kindergarten, (were) doing math problems with my dad. He just made it really fun,” Leganza said.
Although “M is for Math” is for children, Leganza said she also wrote notes to parents and teachers in the back of the book.
“I explain all the words, and I try to do it in fairly easy terms that kids can understand,” Leganza said. “Maybe parents will think math is fun too, if they didn’t before.”
Part of the proceeds from “M is for Math” will benefit Project Transformation Indiana, a program serving under-resourced neighborhoods to improve children’s literacy during the summer.
“M is for Math” is available for purchase in both paperback and hardcover through online retailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
