Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci [Hardcover]

Joseph D'Agnese (Author), John O'Brien (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: March 30, 2010 | Age Range: 6 - 9 years | Lexile Measure: 570L (What's this?)

As a young boy in medieval Italy, Leonardo Fibonacci thought about numbers day and night. He was such a daydreamer that people called him a blockhead.


When Leonardo grew up and traveled the world, he was inspired by the numbers used in different countries. Then he realized that many things in nature, from the number of petals on a flower to the spiral of a nautilus shell, seem to follow a certain pattern. 

The boy who was once teased for being a blockhead had discovered what came to be known as the Fibonacci Sequence!
 

Blockhead is a 2011 Bank Street -- Best Children's Book of the Year.

Blockhead has been translated into Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Catalan. Be sure to check for those editions of this title, if appropriate for your classroom!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2–5—Leonardo does his math problems so quickly that he has plenty of time to look out the window and count other things in nature. His teacher, however, chastises him for daydreaming and the other students call him a "blockhead." Only his father's advisor, Alfredo, understands that Leonardo has a fascination with numbers, a love that will eventually help him become the "greatest Western mathematician in the Middle Ages." As an adult, Fibonacci imagines the figure of Alfredo continuing to help him refine his theories. Although the book is presented as a biography, the author states that "little is known about the life of…Leonardo Fibonacci" and no sources are listed. Entertaining in the vein of the "You Wouldn't Want to Be" series, this lighthearted introduction to Fibonacci's ideas will inspire young math lovers and perhaps point them toward more scholarly explorations. The illustrations have a medieval look to them but without any stiffness or fussiness. They include many touches of humor and are well suited to the story. Painted with a broad pointillist style detailed with pen and ink, the pictures incorporate many visual references to Fibonacci's work, such as swirling features suggestive of the spiral, a key element in the mathematician's theories of nature.—Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Though written in a modern idiom (“‘Yuck,’ I thought. ‘Who wants to be a merchant?’”), D’Agnese’s introduction to medieval Europe’s greatest mathematician offers both a coherent biographical account—spun, with some invented details, from very sketchy historical records—and the clearest explanation to date for younger readers of the numerical sequence that is found throughout nature and still bears his name. O’Brien’s illustrations place the prosperously dressed, woolly headed savant in his native Pisa and other settings, contemplating flowers, seashells, and the so-called arabic numerals (which he promoted vigorously and rightly ascribes to India), as well as presenting a visual solution to his most famous mathematical word problem. Closing with a page of relevant activities for young naturalists, this picture book makes an excellent alternative to Joy N. Hulme’s colorful but flawed Wild Fibonacci: Nature’s Secret Code Revealed, illustrated by Carol Schwartz (2005). Grades 3-5. --John Peters

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 6 - 9 years
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); First Edition edition (March 30, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805063056
• ISBN-13: 978-0805063059
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joseph D'Agnese is an award-winning journalist who has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, This Old House, and many other publications.

His science writing has been published extensively in Discover, Seed and Wired, and was twice named to the annual anthology, Best American Science Writing (HarperCollins).

His crime fiction has appeared in Shotgun Honey, Beat to a Pulp, Plots With Guns and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.

D'Agnese's TV appearances include The PBS Newshour; he has been interviewed by radio personalities as diverse as Joe Franklin and NPR's Bob Edwards, Mike Collins and Robin Young.

Besides his fiction, he's co-author of "Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame & Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence" (Quirk), "The Money Book for Freelancers" (Random House), and a children's picture book, "Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci" (Holt).

His website is josephdagnese.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This biographical look at Leonardo Fibonacci, a lover of numbers and big BLOCKHEAD is totally mesmerizing! May 28, 2010

By D. Fowler TOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Leonardo Fibonacci was considered to be an odd duck at school. He was wild about numbers and that didn't go over particularly well with his fellow students. One day when the Maestro gave everyone a math problem to work through he solved it in two seconds instead of the required ten minutes. He was crazy about numbers and loved to count. Even at home there was something to count, a pastime that made him happy. He counted the seeds in apples and pomegranates, he counted cucumber slices, grapes, peas in a pod . . . there wasn't much that would escape his eye when it came to counting.

Everyone else in school would work on their problems, but Leonardo got bored waiting for them to finish. He daydreamed away and before you know it the Maestro became angry and roared at him "You're nothing but an absent-minded, lazy dreamer, you, you BLOCKHEAD!" Well, the name stuck and every kid in town laughed at him and called him a blockhead. Leonardo saw numbers everywhere and nothing made him happier than thinking about them, but if he had to become a merchant at his father's command how could he study them? He wanted to be happy, to be free to explore numbers, but how could anyone take a boy named Blockhead seriously?

This biographical look at Leonardo Fibonacci, a lover of numbers and big BLOCKHEAD is totally mesmerizing. Of course those who have a great disdain for numbers may not be very interested in this book, but just might want to take another look at them after reading about Blockhead. Fibonacci is best known for his "famous rabbit problem," the Fibonacci Sequence, which is laid out very nicely in these pages. The art work has a very nice Medieval touch which meshes quite nicely with this tale.... The dialogue carries shades of modernity which is definitely more appealing to today's youngsters. In the back of the book is a brief biography of Leonardo and a page of interesting related activities. This is one book you can count on to enhance your library shelves! Read more ›

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8............... January 27, 2011

By Emily

Format:Hardcover

Fibonacci, the man modern mathematicians regard as the greatest Western math mind of the Middle Ages, was called "Blockhead" and "Idiot" throughout his life. Hmm....gives me hope. For all his work, Leonardo Fibonacci is best known for the number pattern in his famous rabbit problem, a pattern well call the Fibonacci sequence. The same sequence that we know now describes how living things prosper, such as flowers and mollusks. The numbers even pop up in works of human imagination--buildings, music, art, and poetry.
Leonardo may have not had the most common sense in the world, but he shared a curiousity about the earth and its wonders which many children will connect with. His ability to think for himself (and put aside the thoughts and opinions of others), to think outside the box, and to build his daydreams into a numerical reality radiate warmth, truth, and beauty.
This book captures those feelings perfectly.
Recommended

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fibonacci Sequence August 27, 2010

By Catherine W. Hughes

Format:Hardcover

Constantly daydreaming about numbers, Leonardo Fibonacci starts to be called "Blockhead" by his teacher and friends. From Pisa, Italy to Bugia, Africa, to countries around the world, Leonardo explores numbers and finds the patterns of mathematics. Within the harmonious spiral of nature, Leonardo finds the Fibonacci Sequence. Children ages 5-8 will appreciate this medieval, mathematical tale.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Tale of Fibonacci and his Math pattern December 20, 2011

By M. Schemanski

Format:Hardcover

Do you remember back in Math class, hearing about Fibonacci Sequence? The name rung a bell with me when I heard that and was intrigued to see what this book was all about. The famous mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci, the young student amazed by and mesmerized by numbers.. much to the chagrin of his family and elders who often referred to him as Blockhead. Little is known about the mathematician, but this tale by D'Agnese takes facts that were known and creates a wonderful biography style picture book about the man who realized the wonderful natural pattern of numbers. Now D'Agnese attributes that to Mother Nature, which I understand as a book to the general public. I on the other hand contribute it to God of Heaven and Earth who designed the pattern. I find it fascinating that Fibonacci was able to use his mathematic ability to realize such a pattern.
The book has beautiful and detailed illustrations of the places and things Fibonacci saw, all incorporating the spirals that are a symbol of the pattern. The end of the book has a Can you Find section that sends the reader back through the book looking for details in the illustrations.
Loved this book for the uniqueness in subject matter, a figure in ancient history that I am enjoying having my young children learn about!

I received a copy of this book from MacMillan publishing in exchange for an honest review.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating! November 21, 2010

By In Ardua Tendit

Format:Hardcover

I read this at a friend's house and totally fell in love with the story and the art. It was the most fun I've had with a kids book in years, and in fact you could give this to adults. You don't even have to enjoy math or understand it because the author makes it easy and fun. I will be giving this one as Christmas presents!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Prepare to be amazed February 13, 2012

By Maria

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a fun book to introduce Fibonacci (Leonardo Pisano). It is a must have for Artists, Biologists, Mathematicians, Architects, Physicists, Astronomers, heck you can connect Fibonacci numbers to almost everything.
The book is written in first person voice so it helps the reader relate to this remarkable renaissance hero. The illustrations are superb. There are hidden sequences, spirals, and symbols to find throughout the book. Best of all, this book encourages readers to see our world in a totally new perspective. Thanks Mr. D'Agnese and Mr. O'Brien!