The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure

by Hans Magnus Enzensberger

Book Overview

The international best-seller that makes mathematics a thrilling exploration

In twelve dreams, Robert, a boy who hates math, meets a Number Devil, who leads him to discover the amazing world of numbers: infinite numbers, prime numbers, Fibonacci numbers, numbers that magically appear in triangles, and numbers that expand without end. As we dream with him, we are taken further and further into mathematical theory, where ideas eventually...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805062998
• ISBN13: 9780805062991
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 1.07 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.3" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 10 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 8

Customer Reviews

Fascinating book for grade school kids on up about math concepts introduced, chapter by chapter, in

I agree with the reviewer who said this book is for kids around 10 years old and anyone older. but I think my 6-year-old grandson will enjoy parts of it. I am still having trouble understanding one of the chapters and I minored in math. I think that re-reading sections and using the author's suggestions to copy a page and work out your own solutions to the issue at hand, would be fun and helpful in understanding the content completely. Knowing about all of the concepts, like the square of a number, square root, factorial, the Fibonacci Sequence and others, it kind of unnerved me that the author names those concepts with funny names because he thinks kids will understand them better. Fortunately, he provides a list of his concepts' names along with the actual mathematical terms for them in a "glossary" at the end of the book. I highly recommend the book for kids and adults. The author used an ingenious way of telling a story about math.

excellent

my father buy this book to me when I was a kid, now I buy one to my friend's daughter its really amazing

An interesting Math lesson

The Number Devil is a fascinating read. It is about a 12 year old boy, Robert, who hates Mathematics. One night, a Number Devil appears in Robert's dream to solve his Math problems. Robert is surprised as he does not have his usual dreams. The Number Devil teaches Robert a lot of Mathematics and a close friendship develops between them. I liked this book because you feel as if you were Robert himself. Reading the book I remembered the times when I too was struggling to cope with Mathematics. The book contains a bit of humor, fiction and sadness too. The fact that was the coolest was the triangle which the Number Devil and Robert built with numbers and the different triangles with numbers divisible by 2 and 5 in them. The story is very well interwoven with Mathematics. So it's neither a storybook nor is it a Math textbook. It is very well written. While reading I did not feel at all like keeping the book down. It is very engrossing. It surely is a must-read.

Just One-derful!

Is there a devil on your back thats been hounding you to learn those numbers? Well, there is an easier way to learn and understand numbers. With Haans Enzensberger's childrens book The number Devil, its not only fun, but makes it all look easy. Sometimes it is, other times it can be overwhelming. The number devil is a story that takes place in dreamland where a child, who hates math and numbers finds out how numbers are essential to the world we live in. He also finds out that numbers are easy to understand, so long as we take the time to understaand them. Each chapter attempts to study a number. Starting with 0 and 1, then moving to others from 2 on up. Every number is a pattern and creates more patterns. Its a matter of seeing the patter that clears up the muddle of large numbers. I found this book easy to read and fun and educational. Highly reccomended!

A great read

The Number Devil is one of the best books I have ever read. I am only 11 years old and even though it explored mathematical theories, I thought it was an amazing novel which was unputdownable. Robert is the main character in the story, and each night he dreams of the number devil. The number devil teaches Robert different mathematical aspects in a way which is simple to understand. Most of my maths class at school has read it and they also agree that it's a great book. I highly reccomend this for anyone from 10 plus.

A Fun Mathematical Journey

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.