Reviews

The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure by Hans Magnus Enzensberger

moseslh's review against another edition

3.0

This is one of those books that must be described with words like "quaint," "charming," and "whimsical." It's a very cute exploration of a lot of mathematical concepts designed to promote a sense of mathematical wonder and intrigue in its readers. Enzensberger frames this as a series of dreams by a young student who learns to appreciate math through his interactions with the Number Devil.
I think Enzensberger has a similar style and sense of humor to [a: Norton Juster|214|Norton Juster|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1201117378p2/214.jpg] of [b: The Phantom Tollbooth|378|The Phantom Tollbooth|Norton Juster|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1438887022s/378.jpg|1782584], although it's hard to match Juster's cleverness. Still, this book is thoroughly enjoyable.

booknerdonmars's review against another edition

informative lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

tms98's review against another edition

5.0

Het is dan wel een Duits kinderboek, toch is de wiskunde die er gebruikt wordt van een zeer hoog niveau (denk aan faculteiten, driehoeksgetallen enz.), de schrijfstijl is ook zeer aangenaam.

dendari's review

5.0

Great book if you want to explore math concepts, but if you don't have someone familiar with the concepts to help you through the book it will be difficult. I plan to read this aloud to my kids and hopefully have some nice math discussions.

ganseyblu3's review

challenging informative lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

steffi_haass's review against another edition

informative lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

ugomb's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

whisperedaria's review

2.0

This book can be used SPARINGLY to teach interesting mathematical concepts to older students. Be careful, though. It can be very confusing, and teaches a few more advances concepts. And it has some mild language.

ultranurd's review

4.0

I liked this a lot. Learned a few properties that never came up in my engineering/physics/computer science driven math education! My only real problem was that they didn't use the real terms, in order to not scare off kids... but that made it a little more confusing for me.

Also had no idea Fibonacci was also known as Bonacci!

4everandever's review

informative lighthearted

4.0