Edgar Allan Poe's Pie: Math Puzzlers in Classic Poems

Emily Dickinson’s Telephone Book, Ogden Nash’s Buggy Rugs, and William Carlos Williams’s Pizza are just a few of the parodies found in J. Patrick Lewis’s collection of math-based poems. Inspired by the masters of poetry, Lewis borrows rhythm, theme, or tone from famous poems, flips them inside out, turns them on their head, and adds a riddle or two along the way. The result is a delightfully funny collection of problem-solvers, which present such math quizzes as the number of slices made in Poe’s apple pie or the number of teeth in John Ciardi’s shark.

Michael Slack’s illustrations add another layer of humor, keeping the mix of poetry and math light and fun, ensuring that the reach of Edgar Allan Poe’s Pie will go far beyond the classroom.