Nico Numero – The Math Wizard [Review]

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Book Title: Sleepytime Tales with Nico Numero
Author: Sonia Mehta
Illustrated by: Sunayana Nair
Publisher: Puffin Books-An imprint of Penguin Random House
Type: Paperback
No. of Pages: 80
Recommended age group: 5-7 Years

At the very outset I want to thank the author for creating such lovely books and KBC for introducing us to the wide array of books.

We are huge fans of Sonia Mehta’s books and ever since we got this book to review, we have been reading it in a loop for days and admiring Nico, his magic cloak and his awesome tricks.

The book is a collection of four short stories of a very young math wizard – Nico Numero. He is funny, smart, honest and very helpful. And the best part is that he has an enchanted sparkly cloak that does all kinds of magic. We loved this little wizard Nico who is always there to solve any problem his friends have with his smartness and a dash of magic.

The stories are not just tales of magic but they teach important concepts and beautiful life lessons in the simplest way. Learning becomes fun and always stays with kids through stories that are relatable. This book does just that. The first story teaches division in a way that kids would never forget. It is the perfect way to introduce the concept of division while trying to emphasize on how sharing is caring and fun.

The story Advit (my 6 year old), loved the most is “Nico and the See Saw Puzzle”. This is a story about Big Bob and Little Len who were best friends but a fun ride on the see saw was turning out to be the reason for a humongous fight. Why was the see saw going down with a crash and a boom on Big Bob’s side every time little Len sat on it?? Was little Len doing it on purpose??

Well no.. why would he want to hurt his best friend? Nico was quick to solve their problem by explaining the reason behind it. The difference in their size were causing the see saw to go crashing down on Big Bob’s side who was bigger in size. And of course, his magic came to the rescue to make Big Bob a little thinner and Little Len some bit fatter. Once they were same size they could easily enjoy the see saw together.

Through different stories, concepts of everyday math and science have been beautifully explained that kids will remember. The author has beautifully blended the stories with things we see around in a way that it is sure to make learning fun. The illustrations by Sunayana Nair add that extra sparkle and colour to the stories. Nico with his crown of black hair, tiny hat, big round spectacles and a huge smile is surely a character you will fall in love with.

There are more books in this Sleepytime Tales series by Sonia Mehta. You can read about Curious Curie here and Coco Comma here!

If you enjoyed this review and would like to read fun stories about Math, then you might want to buy the book from Amazon (kbc affiliate link),

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Disclaimer: Achira and her sons are part of the #kbcReviewerSquad and received this book as a review copy from the publisher.