About
Why this book exists.
Mazmatics makes a tactile activity and story book for kids 7–10 who don’t quite click with how math is taught. Not a replacement for school. Practice between lessons, made to be drawn on.
From the newsroom
The Stuff.co.nz interview.
The Stuff team came round to talk about why I made Mazmatics — what it means to design a maths book for home play, not homework.
What we believe
Our core values
Three short principles that shape every page in the book.
Joyful play
Learning should feel like an adventure, not a chore. We design for smiles and "aha!" moments.
Inclusive design
Every mind works differently. Our visual and tactile approaches mean no learner is left behind.
Growth mindset
Mistakes are just steps to understanding. We celebrate effort and resilience over perfection.
The science (and the spirit)
Building a strong foundation
Built from how kids actually learn: by doing, drawing and getting it wrong before getting it right. No drill-and-kill. Just enough challenge to keep them turning the page.
Practice over perfection
Like guitar, like dance, like sport. Maths is a skill that grows with use.
Home play, not homework
Supplementary, not a replacement. Kids should listen to their teachers; this is the practice between lessons.
No answers page
Kids need to struggle a little to learn deeply. (We do hint strongly when it counts.)
Pencil first, screen never
Tactile, hands-on, no batteries required. Draw, scribble, fold, repeat.
Permission slip
Make it yours.
This book is black and white. It isn't precious. Draw on it. Colour the pictures. Rip a page out and stick it on your wall.
Word of mouth
What kids and parents say.
Reviews left for the book — kids first, since they’re the ones using it.
From kids
Dear Maz, I loved your book. It makes math more fun! If you are going to make another book add some more of those practice doodling pages and another math story. Keep up the great work! PS. Love the characters! From Max Coulton!!!
Dear maz/mazmatics Your book was so good and funny I loved it, it was great. I loved the part where you did dot to dot with multiplication questions that made a poop (Hahahahahahahahahahahah.) I also loved the pictures on the working space, especially the evil taco!!!! I learnt a lot, especially a new tactic! The one when you take away the last number and then add the the non taken away number then add the taken away numbers together then add both the answers together and there's your answer. It took me all day to do the whole book!! ( with stops). I loved all the the faces/emojis everywhere, I look for a new ones on each and every page.
From parents and gift-buyers
When I picked this up I was immediately drawn to the colloquial language and easy to follow format. It's written the way people speak so it's super easy to relate to. It uses real world examples that are relevant and entertaining. This makes math fun! Breath of fresh air. Thank you.
This book is excellent, starting out with kids jokes to gently and hilariously introduce simple math. The illustrated story in the book contextualises math in a way that kids can relate to. The math gets more complex relatively quickly but keeps up the same non pressured conversational style, using drawings to clearly break down the principles. Great book, would highly recommend.
Awesome little practice book. It's full of stories and drawings. There's room to scribble or draw and even some dice you can fold and cut out with your kids for math games. Explains the exercises well and gives some good tips on how to think about and solve the math problems. It's written in a really fun kid-friendly way- even has some encouragement along the way! Really recommend.
Mazmatics definitely does what it says it will do! I got my nieces and nephews all a Mazmatics book for Christmas and they all loved it! Perfect for ages 6+, and adults will enjoy it too The hot favourite for the kids was the dog poop exercise. This is a brilliant resource for kids, it makes math fun for them, which is the best way for little brains to learn!