my next book: meet Daphne

Analyzing data and communicating with graphs was part of my daily life long before children were. However, since the latter entered the picture, a persistent thought has echoed in my mind:

Children learn to speak and read, acquiring verbal language at a fairly young age. Graphs are a form of visual language that I teach to adults, many of whom regret not learning it earlier. Why not introduce the engaging world of graphs and problem-solving with data to the agile minds of young learners?

I started experimenting with my own children. It was a small sample (N=3), but the early results were promising. This led me to expand my research, increasing the number of participants and including not only children, but also the adults in their lives (teachers, parents and others). The process was simple: read a story (one I’d been working on for a while) aloud to a child or children and answer a few questions.

I’m happy to report that the findings of my empirical study are positive. I’ll share two verbatim quotes that illustrate general sentiment:

And so it is with great pleasure that I introduce you to the heroine of my fourth book, Daphne, the data-drawing dragon. Later this year, readers of all ages will be able to join Daphne on her travels to far-off places and learn how numbers can be used to solve problems and save the day in the magical and mathematical adventure, Daphne Draws Data.

Daphne is being brought to life visually by award-winning illustrator John Skewes (of Larry Gets Lost fame—there’s a fun backstory there that I’ll share another time). It’s been fascinating to get a front-row seat to the illustration process. I can’t wait to share the final product with you.

I hope you’ll excitedly anticipate the publication of Daphne Draws Data—sign up here for updates, early access, giveaways, and more!