Beautifully illustrated -- and not just for little kids!

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Product Description

Drawing on years of research, a renowned archaeologist traces the evolution of counting. She shows how the concept of numbers came about, how various societies answered the question "How many?," and how our modern-day decimal system was developed. Engrossing and enlightening, this fascinating book introduces children to one of our most important inventions.

00-01 Utah Book Award (Informational Books)

Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2000, National Council for SS & Child. Book Council

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #479521 in Books
• Published on: 1999-08-25
• Released on: 1999-08-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 48 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780688141189
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5-One strength of this title is the cultural context into which the information has been placed so that children will understand not only how numbering and counting have evolved over time but also why. Some of the phrasing and several of the cultural examples are sophisticated but for the most part the information has been well adapted to a young audience. The book begins with a brief introduction that defines counting and numbers and then moves on to a historical overview. Hays's attractive paintings, done in acrylic on linen, successfully interpret the concepts explained in the text. It would be a shame if older children dismissed this book because of its picture-book format, since they are unlikely to encounter a better explanation of the subject. There are some fine older, out-of-print books that convey much of the same information, but nothing in recent memory explains the topic quite so well.
Linda Greengrass, Bank Street College Library, New York City
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Scientific American
When we count, we say "one, two, three ... " but it is possible to count without using numbers at all. Perhaps instead we could just point to different parts of our body to represent varying amounts. Pointing to our left shoulder would mean nine, while pointing to our right eye would mean 15. This type of body counting is how the Paiela, the people of the highlands of Papua New Guinea, count. They have no special words for numbers. Another people, the Veddas of Sri Lanka, also count without numbers. They pile up pebbles to represent the objects: one pebble for each object. They have a few special counting words meaning things such as "a single," "a couple," "another one" and "many." In this book, author Schmandt-Besserat draws from her background as an archaeologist and takes us through the early counting techniques of the ancient Middle East to witness the evolution of our modern-day method. Try your hand at counting the way the ancient Sumerians did and experience a world without zero. Try to count like the ancient Greeks and learn the 27 letters of their alphabet that they used as numerals. After short experiments with these techniques, the advantages of the modern system become clear. You'll never look at numbers in quite the same way again.

From Booklist
As the title succinctly states, this well-designed, large-format book traces the history of counting. Beginning with a look at primitive expressions of numbers, the text goes on to explain abstract counting and the methods used by the Sumerians, the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans, and finally the Arabs, who brought Hindu numerals from India to Europe about 1,000 years ago. Finally, this demonstrates four clear advantages of the Arabic system, which is used throughout the modern world. The book surveys a broad subject and communicates it in a way that is comprehensible to young people yet never condescending to them. The large-scale illustrations portray people from many cultures, all with their own dignity and individual style. Imaginatively conceived and well composed, Hays' acrylic paintings feature warm, harmonious colors and delicate plays of light and shadow against textured-linen backings. Cogently written and beautifully made, this handsome book spotlights a part of our heritage so basic that we take it for granted. Mathematical terms appended. Carolyn Phelan

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Customer Reviews

Wonderful and comprehensive elem intro to math history
One of the biggest challenges I have had is finding in print books that are as good as some of the stand-by OOP books recommended on the best math reading lists. For example, Lancelot Hogben's The Wonderful World of Mathematics is highly recommended, but oop and also somewhat out of date.

I got this book today and am delighted, I'll be using it for my classes this fall. It is almost a picture book, but dense - enough that I had to re-read parts of it to understand myself. Very highly illustrated so you can *see* what they are talking about, 41 pages, and the history covered is world wide, not just devoted to the Egyptians and Greeks. It is truly a comprehensive and universal history of counting brought down to kid level comprehension.

The print is good sized and spaced well to make it more readable. I'd say it is read alone level for 3rd through 6th. With my own 6 year old I can paraphrase the text and use the great visuals to get the ideas across. There is one page that has a wonderful visual of "body counting" and the wide-spread use of these techniques all over the world actually makes this a good living geography book as well.

For a parent that is very visual, you might like it yourself :o). The artwork isn't juvenile, it's clean and simple, I was very impressed with the book.

Multicultural Math
This is a great book for the begining of the year. Shows the relevance of numbers in society. Would recommend highly.

For the mathematician in all of us...!
Well, maybe for SOME of us! The book presents a fascinating history of...counting. Simple, you say? You just start at 1 and keep going. This is true only since recent history. What led up to this "modern" math? Take a look!