Can math stories be culturally on point, revelatory and fun? The answer is yes! And that’s why we’re recommending “Luna and the Case of the Missing Mooncakes” by Natasha Yim, illustrated by Violet Kim.

The story takes place during the “Mid-Autumn” or “Harvest Moon Festival”, a traditional Chinese celebration. Luna, our protagonist, is excited to celebrate with her extended family, especially her favorite cousin Mina, who brings a special box of mooncakes for dessert. Mooncakes are a traditional pastry often featuring sweet lotus paste filling with a salty egg yoke middle.

While waiting for dinner, Mina and her cousin discover they have a real mystery on their hands; someone is stealing the mooncakes. And the sweet treats are disappearing one by one!

Luna and Mina do the detective work and begin searching for clues. They find handprints, a blue thread, and a lost shoe. These clues help them methodically eliminate suspects as they postulate who could have swiped the cakes.

“Could it be big brother Kai?”

“Brother Benji?”

“Or maybe even a grown-up?”

Through careful observation and logic, they ultimately discover the culprit. But, you’ll have to read the book to find out who it was.

This book seamlessly weaves mathematical thinking into an entertaining story. Part of Charlesbridge’s “Storytelling Math” series (see the feature photo for other covers and titles), the book introduces young readers to logic, reasoning, and the process of elimination. These are all essential mathematical skills; and the author does a great job of showing readers without making it feel like too much like a lesson.

Children are natural detectives. They love following clues and making predictions. The learning for parents is to foster natural curiosity and even find opportunities to coach it into logical reasoning.