Fun With Numbers

Gr 2-4-A lighthearted explanation of how numbers are used. Beginning with the endpapers, numerals of all shapes, sizes, and personalities flow across the pages. Readers must pay attention; the text begins on the facing title page. If that section is skipped, one misses the introduction to the book's guides, a boy and his dog. Phil and Pippo travel through Egypt, Mesopotamia, ancient Rome, Mexico, India, and Europe, tracing the development of different counting and measuring systems. This title's French origin does not diminish its usefulness to an American audience. The U.S. system of inches, feet, yards, and miles is discussed, albeit as one of several methods of measurement. The format is appealing to a young audience-lots of open space; large, cartoonstyle pictures; and relatively small blocks of text. The information presented is interesting but not detailed. For reports on any particular topic, e.g., Roman numerals, Archimedes, Sumerian mathematicians, etc., children will have to go to other sources.-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA