Unsolicited Raves from Readers . . .

. . . You should have heard the shameless chortles of glee from daughter #1 when she came home from her hike.  She dove right into the advanced algebra book, completely ignoring her hiking partner who surely thought my daughter had dealt a death blow to sanity.  We, of course, shared freely with our guest how wonderful your books are, and their mom looked through the books and wrote down your web address.

We received the Trig book on Friday. . . . The book looks wonderful and my daughter has her old math excitement back.  I believe this book (and series) is an answer to my prayers. . . .I found her at 7 am this morning, working problems with gusto!  God bless.

Dear Stan,
Thank you for your wonderful series.  My two teens are enjoying Beginning Algebra and Geometry.  I will hear chuckling and "Listen to this..." quite frequently.

My son greatly enjoy LoF: Geometry, and everyone in the house has read at least a little of Fred's story.

Hello, Dr. Schmidt,
Let me congratulate you on your fun, original math series. . . .  I ordered your Beginning Algebra text. 

I was pleased that there was no extra shipping charge. . . .  I was jaw-droppingly amazed at your fast shipping (ordered Thursday late, arrive Saturday.)  Then I opened the book.  Next cool surprise—how often do you get a math book signed by the author?  Sweet!

Finally, I started reading.  And grinning.  And laughing.  It was wonderful!!!!  What a hoot—I knew my 12 year old son would love it.  We had some friends over after church on Sunday and they took to reading passages out loud.  Who knew math could be so entertaining?  You have truly used your gifts in a way that will bless many people.

I am a student who needs to get back into math, and your books are GREAT!!  I found one at the library (Geometry) and wondered how I could purchase them.  Thanks so much.

Dear Dr. Schmidt–
I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that my 11 yo said something yesterday I never heard him say before: "I really like math—this algebra is fun!"  We are all enjoying LOF Beginning Algebra.  I have recommended it to friends as well.

Thanks so much!  I saw your geo book and it was wonderful!

I had been struggling for months over what to use for my math geek, and this was just the ticket.  I bought the whole set of six books, and everyone in the family—even the nonmath folks—dived into poor Fred's Adventures.

Dear Stan,
. . . I'm happy to report that we've started two of my boys (the 6th and 8th graders) on Beginning Algebra and they're whizzing through it and enjoying it.  I love the questions!  We've got some great mathematical thinking going on here.

LOVE your calculus book!  Far better than my old college calculus books!!!  This will not only help me teach my son, but I have been wanting to teach other homeschooled high schoolers advanced algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus.  Once I have time to start my classes, I may be ordering lots of books for my students.  I especially appreciate all the humor.

Thanks Stan,
We have 2 boys who are always fighting over whose turn it is to do LOF so we thought we would get a second copy.

Thanks a million!  loved the book!!

[Enclosed a photo of his 13-year-old son] "absorbing" algebra and Life of Fred.

Mr. Schmidt,
You are God sent!   For years I struggled with basic math. I spent two (or was it three?) years working in Saxon 5/4 and another two years going in circles in book 6/5.  I'd resigned Math to the dull and dry.  Any hope of finishing arithmetic before college age seemed impossible. The endless problems made me prefer the dentist to a math professor.  Oddly enough, when Mother called a Saxon pro for advice he told her to give me MORE problems to help bang it into my brain!  (My words not his.)  I was 17 and still stuck half way through 7th grade math.  In Feb. 2007, my Mother found the most curious looking textbook; it was called Life of Fred.  Instantly I loved it.  Within one month I had gone through Fractions with flying colors—amazed at the ease with which I was now empowered in Math.  This week I finished Decimals and Percents and began Beginning Algebra.  I feel as though I am in a dream and for so long have dreamed of the day in which I would be officially introduced to Mr. X(Algebra.)  Thank you, thank you, a 1,000 to the infinite power thank you! :)

Thanks! We love these books!

My boys couldn't put it down.  You are hysterical!

WOW! It is even better than I had hoped.  My son and I just read the first chapter and we really enjoyed it. . . . Yours is the first living math book that I have ever seen.  I am so excited that I will have a copy of Fractions to share. . . .Thank you for a great product and super fast shipping!

Life of Fred?  The best thing I've ever read. No joke.

My friend . . . has been raving about your math books at church, and they have circulated among our homeschoool community like wildfire.  This is mostly because her math-adverse daughter . . . after years of resisting traditional math instruction, ensconced herself in the living room easy chair and completed something like 25 lessons of one of the pre-algebra books in one weekend, Voluntarily!!!!

My engineering husband took a two minute look at the trig book and said "I like it, it's real math applied in real situations, let's get some."  He's also delighted with the sense of humor throughout the books.

Dear Dr. Schmidt—

. . . enjoyed thumbing through the algebra book.  What a marvelous sense of humor to complement your technical knowledge!  I'm enclosing a check for the book plus a small donation for the "Fred Fund!"  Oh, and the next time you're in [city deleted], [her son] says that he'd love to buy you a strawberry shake!  You've won over the lad already!  God bless you.

My 14-year old worked on the algebra book all the way home from Colorado.  A very good sign!

Dear Stan,
Just wanted to say thank you for discussing the books and your ideas with me.  The girls have received them and [name deleted] has buzzed through the first half of the BA.  She wanted to review and get accustom[ed] to your style of teaching prior to taking on the AA in a couple of weeks.
She can't stop giggling while studying that book.  I can not imagine Algebra like that.  She told me to relay to you that she is "enjoying" her math.

LOF is the best math book I've ever used.

Stan,
I have just started reading your Life of Fred: Beginning Algebra and am entranced.  I hope to use it in the Beginning Algebra class that I'll teach next fall.  (I teach full time at a community college in Arizona.)

I love the book.

I really appreciate your modest pricing and your desire to help people love math.  Your prices are much better than other curriculum.

I work for the Department of the Navy at [omitted].  Your statistics book opens the possibility of teaching a stat course here for all of the officers who report for two to three year tours of duty as "test directors". . . . I was not ever one to read a math book but this stuff is fun and at age 62, I actually feel like [I'm] starting to really understand what I have been doing for the last 40 years.

By the way, my son used to be math resistant till he started reading your book.  Thank you for all the humor.  :o)

Oh Yippee! now I can start at the beginning of math and finally get it through my thick head!!  Can't wait.... This will be great for the grandkids to start with also.  I'll be ordering a ton of books!!!

Hi Stan,
I'm just dropping a note to say how much my son and I are enjoying Life of Fred Beginning Algebra.  There are no tears and tantrums around algebra (that's my enjoyment) and my son cheerfully does his math. . . . He's accepting algebra as useful now, which is something we had many debates over previously.  And on those days when I'm frustrated with homeschooling a pre-teen I just read a page or two of his math book and I start to giggle—we laugh together and the stress dissipates.  Thanks, Stan, for giving us sanity via your insanity.

Thank you!  Enjoying Alg 1 already.  Love your approach.  Please send me copy of Statistics.

Thanks for such a wonderful book!

Hi Stan!
We received the books yesterday and they are delightful!  I can't wait to share them with our Math profs.

Dear Stan,
I wanted to write you a quick note to congratulate you and thank you for your amazing "Life of Fred" books.  They are both fun and rigorous—just like math and just not like most textbooks. . . . [My friend] met you at a homeschooling fair and bought your beginning algebra book. She lent it to me to see if I would want to use it, teaching my algebra course.  I read more than a hundred pages the first night and my fiancé and I both finished it within a week.  My students just got their books yesterday and are eagerly reading.  I recommended your book to a homeschooling parent, whose children are now loving it.
I'm privately tutoring another homeschooled student in geometry.  We just decided to switch to your book. . . . My fiancé and I are requesting the rest of your books as Christmas presents. 

Thank you so much for the Life of Fred book.  I love the fact that he [Fred] is 5 and teaching at KITTENS.  You make it really real, and fun to learn.  Go Fred!!!!

[posted on a chat site]  I just ordered Advanced Algebra (Alg II) and really like it (for $29 I thought it was worth buying without seeing).  The story's great, the math is solid—and we really need a break from Saxon. . . . I talked to the author on the phone—he's a really interesting person. I like his approach to math.

[from the same person in a later posting]  I had bought his book and e-mailed him a ton of questions.  Boy was I surprised to get a phone call from him!  He said that he wrote his books from a Christian perspective but didn't hit readers over the head with it.  I asked him whether there was anything in his books that I, as a Catholic, would be uncomfortable with.  He said no—and I haven't found anything so far.  We went from there on tangents about Catholic poetry, songs, etc—it was a great conversation.

[a different person posting]  OK.  Bought Algebra and Trig.  The girls are so thrilled with these books!  [name omitted] even continued to do math problems while everyone was watching Star Gate (we are sci-fi geeks here).  Even [different name omitted], who is not fond of math, loved the first chapter of Algebra (I had intended to do Saxon 87 with her, but this is so much more engaging!). . . . I had planned on (and purchased) Saxon Calc., but now she [her daughter] is thinking that Life of Fred Calc. sounds much better.

[a posting on a chat site]  . . . was struggling with Saxon Algebra last year (she was doing Seton curriculum and so we had to use Saxon—which I personally don't like).  I pulled out LoF Algebra—she whipped thru it and was able to catch up and finish Saxon no problem.   Besides, the guy—Stanley Schmidt is a riot!

Hello,
My daughter, a senior in high school is using your Calculus text this year.  She enjoys coloring in the cute little ducks, but is also learning.

Hi Dr. Schmidt,
I wanted to let you know what a joy it is to study your math book series. I'm an attorney and a CPA. . . . I decided to start from the beginning with your Beginning Algebra.  What a great way to teach math!  My wife thinks it humorous that I come home after a long day at work and pull out your math book after dinner to enjoy myself.  Your teaching method is compelling and entertaining. . . . I never enjoyed learning math like I have with your books.

Dear Professor Schmidt,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write the Life of Fred books. . . . When [her daughter] was 8, she asked to be homeschooled, and I have tried many different ways (Saxon, Math-U-See, aleks.com, card games, computer games, song) to try to help her at least tolerate it, including not doing any formal math for a year.  She is now 11 and realizes that she does need to learn Math to get into a University, but to put it mildly, it is not her favorite subject even though she is good at it.  We have been doing Pre-Algebra.

On Saturday, my friend lent me a her copy of "Life of Fred: Fractions".  That evening after supper, I started to read it and giggled so much my daughter came and sat beside me to see what I was reading. . . . We got a piece of paper and a pencil, and she wouldn't stop until we had read five lessons. . . . She said: "This is the funniest math book I have ever seen."

It was her bedtime, and I hid the book because I knew that if she found it she would read the story. . . .

Tonight, she asked to do some more.  I kept saying "OK, that's enough for today; we can continue tomorrow," and she kept saying "Just one more page," and we're at p. 74 after two sessions.  Incredible.

Dear Mr. Schmidt,
Thank you for you wonderful math books.  We started w/ calculus when we first found out about your books a year ago because my son had already finished Saxon thru Advanced Mathematics.  However, now that he is just finishing his junior year of high school and taken the SAT, we find that his verbal SAT scores exceed his Math SAT scores by anywhere from 110 to 210 points.  His weaknesses appear to be in the Advanced Algebra and Trig problems so this summer he is using your Advanced Algebra (already to great success on practice tests) and now your Trig book to attempt to raise his Math SAT score this coming October.  Your books are making the whole process ENJOYABLE!

I have a 10-year-old math-hating daughter and a 12-year-old son who loves to read.  I just wanted to let you know that after checking out Life of Fred: Beginning Algebra from our library we are more interested than ever.  My son thinks it looks so much more intriguing than a typical math book and is eager to give it a try this coming school year.  Even my daughter has admitted that it looks like a fun way to learn math.

LOVE the books.  can't believe they actually exist!!!  you've ended my math search for high school and myself!!! thankyou thankyou thankyou

Both my daughter and I were thrilled when we began to read through the books.  This is the FIRST TIME EVER I have seen true excitement from my daughter when it comes to math!  She took the book into her new room and read the first several pages.  I could hear her LAUGHING as she read.  She begged to begin her new math the next day.  The most amazing part is that we just began our "summer." 

Hi,
First of all, FANTASTIC!!!
My brother-in-law just showed me your books and I can't believe that someone likes Math as much as I do.  I have been teaching Developmental Math at our local college for over 10 years, and I fight every year with the big shots on making my class more like your books. . . . You have restored my hope in mankind.

Thank you for making math affordable as well as interesting!

Got this today and LOVE what I've read. . . . Thanks very much.  I'm positive my boys will actually enjoy math for a change.

My 11 year old daughter just took a peak (read the first chapter) at her 13 year old brother's Beginning Algebra LOF and said to herself (but I heard her) "This is fun!"  Thought you would enjoy that testimonial.

Dear Dr. Stan:
We received the Geometry and Adv. Algebra books Friday.   Wow! first time in 53 years I've ever wanted to take a pencil and paper and actually work out math problems. . . . Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me last week.  I really enjoyed it.

I am shocked and awed...in a really good way!!!  Stanley, these books are AWESOME! . . . That's $19 bucks well spent!  Thanks for all your hard work.

Dear Dr. Schmidt,
Thank you so much for your willingness to spend your valuable time with me on the phone last week.  I was truly blessed. . . . I feel your curriculum is so fresh & fun for our children, that I would love to see other[s] have access to it.

My 11 yo son just loves the Fred math.  He'll see something in other books or just in daily life and say Fred... this.... or Fred... that....  He saw a random bicycle riding along the sidewalk, and then a random kid walking and he made up a D=RT problem right there in the car as to when the bicycle might catch up to the walker.

Dear Stan,
. . . I am on the last few pages of your Beginning Algebra, which to my complete surprise has made algebra enjoyable.  I borrowed a [non-Fred] intermediate algebra text from my community college and it just makes my eyes swim and then I get really mad and fume at the small-minded "math-o-crats" in the institutions of higher learning.  And then I can't think.  And then I break down crying with frustration that my life is being held hostage by those idiots.  When I run into fellow students at the community college we swap math crying jag stories.  I tell you all of this in an effort to convey my gratitude to you.  I am confident that your advanced algebra book will be just as sturdy a life raft as the first one has been in the choppy seas of algebra subterfuge.  Thank you.

I am using Life of Fred: Beginning Algebra for my 7th grade GATE Seminar math class.  No more groans, instead we have laughter.

[a Web site review]    All Hail, Fred and Stan!
My girls hate, despise, abhor, and in all other ways dislike math. They are each anywhere from one to three years behind in this subject. No math book or approach is going to make this their favorite subject.  But we may have found something that will make the topic more palatable.  Five days ago, we ordered, sight unseen, The Life of Fred: Beginning Algebra from Polka Dot Publishing.  Today, we are swooning over it.  What's so great about it?  Well, for starters, it was autographed by the author!  How cool is that?  Secondly, it's a 318 page hardback that only cost $29—and shipping was free!  Wow!  (Plus it arrived fast!)  Thirdly, it's funny.  Yeah, yeah, I know, math is a serious subject—and there's certainly been no laughing around here about it before.  Today, though, we're giggling.  Stanley Schmidt, PhD is obviously a genius.  He approaches math in an almost chatty manner, telling the story of little Fred, age six.  (Okay, it actually starts the day before Fred's sixth birthday.)  As Fred encounters the need for algebra (in his admittedly somewhat atypical life), the concept is then explained.  Very logical, but a much better approach for my language oriented girls. . . .And what I've seen convinces me his material are worthy!  Check it out for yourself!

Dr. Schmidt,
Sir, I bow down to you. Your approach to math is precisely the one our family needed.

Hi,
I've just been introduced to your Life of Fred series by a friend I deeply respect.  She has spent 20 years as a special ed teacher, writes curriculum of her own and manages to teach difficult subjects to children labeled incapable of learning.  Needless to say, her opinion holds much weight we me!  And, she's raving about your books.

I've borrowed her first few books to see exactly what makes this curriculum so great in her eyes.  After working through the Fractions book, I'll have to say, it's the most unorthodox, unusual teaching material I have every seen!!!!

. . . From the time I was in 2nd grade, I cried my way through math.  In high school, I wrote my best friend's term papers and she did all my algebra.

Now, here I am with your book; this thin funny little thing that's filled with obscure (and seemingly pointless & unrelated!) information.  And yet, I've found myself sitting at the kitchen table, giggling over the story lines, working out problems and actually "getting it" for the first time in my life!!!!  :)

And that's a very good thing since I am now a homeschool mother of 5. . . .  I'm wondering where Fred's been all my life????!!!!!  :)

. . . Just so you know, even my 7 and 9 year olds are BEGGING me to read the story of Fred to them!!!!  Enough so that they're grabbing paper and pencils attempting to answer the questions with their siblings so I'll read more!!!  I've never seen anything like it. 

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