The History of Counting [Hardcover]

Denise Schmandt-Besserat (Author), Michael Hays (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 1999 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

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

Editorial Reviews

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.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (August 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688141188
• ISBN-13: 978-0688141189
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #500,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful and comprehensive elem intro to math history, August 9, 2004

By 

Julie Brennan "Living math" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The History of Counting (Hardcover)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Multicultural Math, November 22, 2008

By 

E. Rivera "Will Work For Shoes" (TEXAS) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The History of Counting (Hardcover)

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

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic teaching tool!, April 7, 2011

By 

Alison Waterman (Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The History of Counting (Hardcover)

I read this book to my 6th graders to help them understand the varied counting systems that human cultures have devised, and how the numbers we use evolved from earlier systems. Great pictures and clearly written text.