ALA Booklist (Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2008)

This picture book for older children introduces the idea of probability using a funny, fantastical premise: A boy named Ethan wakes up with a talking cat on the top of his head. The cat informs Ethan that he'll get off his head if Ethan wins a game of probability. After cartwheels, jumping jacks, and a shower don't remove the cat, Ethan decides to play along. The two consider  a variety of everyday household groupings ins, socks, marbles, cereal shapes, and even soccer strategies d eventually Ethan goes from haphazard guessing to a real sense of  odds and outcomes. Einhorn moves this math lesson quickly along, spurring it with Ethan's oft-repeated need to get to his soccer game within the hour d without the cat. Gustavson's appealing oil paintings, which depict Ethan and his little sister in all their befuddled wonder, match well with Einhorn's quirky text and premise. They are full of energy, odd angles, and offbeat perspectives, and kids will want to give them more than a passing glance.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Kids who like math will readily overlook the contrived storytelling for this book's clear introduction to an underserved topic: probability. On the day of the last soccer match of the season, Ethan awakens to discover that a talking cat, fittingly named Odds, has attached itself to his head and won't get off until the boy wins a probability game. “ 'Don't put on your socks yet,' ordered Odds.... 'You'll win if you can pull out 2 matching socks without looking.' ” Einhorn's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Paradox in Oz) cut-to-the-chase style will have math enthusiasts rapidly engaging their skills to keep up with the fast-paced albeit strained dialogue. The supercilious Odds refuses to give an inch and seemingly delights in the boy's initial missteps (“Ta-dah!... You lose,” he quips, more than once). Despite Odds's disdainful style, Ethan eventually wins a game and goes on to figure his soccer goal–making odds. Gustavson (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Last Day of School) helps explain the subject with occasional vignettes (for example, an illustration of possible marble color combinations clarifies Ethan's chances of pulling two white marbles during one of the cat's challenges) but otherwise his paintings seem forced. Ages 7-10. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Feb.)

Kirkus Reviews

The latest of the Charlesbridge Math Adventures tackles the idea of probability. Ethan awakens one morning to find an unfamiliar cat named Odds on his head. Odds refuses to get off until Ethan wins a probability game. But that's not as easy as it sounds. Ethan fails to choose a dime from his bank, or to find two matching socks from his drawer of ten pairs. It is when his sister brings out the marbles that the true teaching moment begins. Ethan lays out color pairs to determine what the odds are of pulling out two white marbles from a bag of 100 of four equal colors. It isn't until breakfast that Ethan finally wins. By then, he has taken the lesson to heart and realizes that probability could help him win his upcoming soccer game. Gustavson's oil paintings highlight the improbability of Ethan's situation—his attempts to remove Odds, and failing that, to conceal him, will have readers in stitches. Each of Ethan and Odds facial expressions speaks volumes. Aside from its rather sluggish start, this is solid math that also teaches children about its applicability in the wider world. (Picture book. 7-10)