Book Descriptions
for Fun with Numbers by Massin and Les C. Peles
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Phil the dog and Pippo, his human companion, travel through time to discover intriguing facts about systems of counting and numerical representation developed by many cultures. An informative and imaginative 13 1/4 x 9 1/4" towering text is accompanied by delightfully zany illustrations in which personified numbers dance, roll and fly across pages. Other full-page art shows Phil and Pippo among Aztecs, Ancient Egyptians, Sumerians and others whose numerical achievements continue to be counted today. (Ages 7-11)
CCBC Choices 1995. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 1995. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
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--SJ 02/00/1996.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.