Math Delights

The Cat in Numberland

www.amazon.com/Cat-Numberland-Ivar-Ekeland/dp/081262744X
by Ivar Ekeland, illustrated by John O.Brien Cricket Books, 2006 (reading level ages 9-12) US$19.95, 56 pages ISBN-13: 978-0812627442

The following is from Jim Propp's review, which appeared in Notices of the American Mathematical Society (AMS), www.ams.org/notices/200901/tx090100031p.pdf.

The Cat in Numberland is a well-thought-out and stylish attempt to present ideas about infinity to children who are ready to take a step beyond the notion of infinity as “the largest number.” I found Ekeland's text engaging, with enough whimsy to keep the story from being dry but not so much as to be cutesy or condescending, and I thought O'Brien's charming black-and-white illustrations compensated for their lack of color through their loopy, nervy vigor.

The Number Devil

by Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Holt Paperbacks, 2000 (reading level ages 9-12) US$19, 264 pages ISBN-13: 978-0805062991
www.amazon.com/Number-Devil-Mathematical-Adventure/dp/0805062998

The following review by Hank Waddles, appeared on Amazon.com:

In a children's book reminiscent of The Phantom Tollbooth, the reader is taken along on a magical journey of mathematical discovery. Robert is a twelve-year-old boy who detests math, mainly because his math teacher, Mr. Bockel, is incredibly boring. To the rescue comes the Number Devil, a creature who visits Robert in a series of twelve dreams. During each dream the Number Devil explains different mathematical mysteries and reveals the beauty and simplicity of numbers. In the end, both Robert and the reader gain a new appreciation for math.

Steven Strogatz on the Elements of Math

New York Times Online Column
topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/series/steven_strogatz_on_the_elements_of_math/index.html

Steven Strogatz, an award-winning professor, takes readers from the basics to the baffling in a 15-part series on mathematics. Beginning with a column on why numbers are helpful, he goes on to investigate topics including negative numbers, calculus and group theory, finishing with the mysteries of infinity.

Columnist Biography: Steven Strogatz is a professor of applied mathematics at Cornell University. In 2007 he received the Communications Award, a lifetime achievement award for the communication of mathematics to the general public. He previously taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received the E.M. Baker Award, an institute-wide teaching prize selected solely by students. “Chaos,” his series of 24 lectures on chaos theory, was filmed and produced in 2008 by The Teaching Company. He is the author, most recently, of “The Calculus of Friendship,” the story of his 30-year correspondence with his high school calculus teacher.

The Prince of Mathematics: Carl Friedrich Gauss

by M. B. W. Tent , AK Peters, 2008 (reading level ages 9.12) US$19.55, 264 pages, ISBN-13: 978-1-56881-455-1
www.amazon.com/Prince-Mathematics-Carl-Friedrich-Gauss/dp/1568814550

Learn about the boy who could read and add numbers when he was three years old, thwarted his teacher by finding a quick and easy way to sum the numbers 1-100, attracted the attention of a Duke with his genius, and became the man who predicted the reappearance of a lost planet, discovered basic properties of magnetic forces, invented a surveying tool used by professionals until the invention of lasers. ... This historical narrative will inspire young readers and even curious adults with its touching story of personal achievement.

From the CMS Notes, “This book is a novel about Gauss written so as to be comprehensible to young readers — a historical narrative resulting from extensive research of original and secondary sources.”

The Puzzling World of Winston Breen and The Potato Chip Puzzles

by Eric Berlin, Putnam, (reading level ages 9-12)
www.amazon.com/Puzzling-World-Winston-Breen/dp/0142413887
www.amazon.com/Potato-Chip-Puzzles-Puzzling-Winston/dp/0399251987

These two books contain quite a few puzzles. You can solve them if you want, although you don't have to solve them to enjoy the stories. Most of the answers can be found in the back of the books. Some of the puzzles are so important to the stories, however, that the answers appear later in the text.

Please let us know of other engaging literary math books.

Nancy Blachman
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