Ex Libris Kirkland

Buy it from Amazon

Subtitle A Mathematical Adventure
Illustrator Rotraut Susanne Berner
Translator Michael Henry Heim
First Written 2000
Genre Nonfiction
Origin Germany
Publisher Picador
ISBN-10 0805062998
ISBN-13 978-0805062991
My Copy paperback
First Read April 30, 2019

The Number Devil



This was given to my son as homework during a vacation we took, and it's super fun: it's an exploration of a bunch of number / math concepts, within the fictional framework of a boy who dreams of a small 'number devil.' It's definitely in the tradition of Alice in Wonderland / Phantom Tollbooth / Flatland / Sophie's World / GEB / etc. And it's cool! It's got nice illustrations and diagrams, not beautiful but clear and lively. And it's full of mind-blowing math ideas that impressed both my 9-year-old and myself. Totally should be in the kid canon. I bought a copy after reading the one Felix brought home from school.

Noted on May 10, 2019


Ex Libris Kirkland is a super-self-absorbed reading journal made by Matt Kirkland. Copyright © 2001 - .
Interested in talking about it?
Get in touch. You might also want to check out my other projects or say hello on twitter.