Customer Reviews

Wild Fibonacci: Nature's Secret Code Revealed

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Wild Fibonacci is a beautifully illustrated book that introduces the reader to the Fibonacci sequence and how it appears in nature. For those not familiar with it, the Fibonacci sequence is 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 and so on where the next number is found by adding the two before it (e.g. 2+3=5, 3+5=8).

Author Joy Hulme starts with a clear and simple explanation of the concepts, giving the most commonly claimed examples of where the Fibonacci numbers appear in Nature. Then, with pictures and rhyming verse aimed at the younger audience, she cleverly integrates the formula of the sequence (e.g. 2+3=5) with pictures of animals who have body parts (tusk, tooth, talon, or tail) whose curvature appears to fit a spiral.

The book is an excellent choice for parents wanting to instill a love of Mathematics in children because it shows its relevance by linking it to Nature. The rhymes stumble occasionally, but make up for it by being chock full of information for the inquisitive mind. It teaches, addition, number sequences and geometry. The major shortcoming of the book is that it tries too hard to fit animal's shapes to the curvature of the Golden Spiral, the "equiangular spiral" formed by Fibonacci squares (shown in the book). The author seems to suggest any equiangular spiral is a Golden Spiral. The sea shells shown have a spiral pattern but clearly do not grow at the same rate as the Golden Spiral, an error that will not be lost on a bright young reader. This makes it unsuitable for the high school level.

(The Fibonacci numbers (and the Golden Ratio) appear in plants but not animals - with the exception of bees)

Altogether, the book is a wonderful addition to a child's library.

Although this book has some pretty pictures and some basic information about Fibonacci, it fails to provide good connections between the pictures and the Fibonacci sequence. The text, in rhyme, has nothing to do with Fibonacci. So, although the pictures are pretty, the book fails at it's most fundamental point, it fails to illustrate how Fibonacci numbers are seen in nature.

You cannot give this book to a child and have them understand the connection of the Fibonacci sequence to nature without outside help.

Having been fascinated by numbers all my life and absolutely enchanted with Fibonacci, this book, though aimed at a younger reader, is fascinating and most enjoyable. It is an excellent introduction for a young mathematician that can also be enjoyed as a parent/child reader. It also should be in every elementary school library. Highly recommended.

The book needed more information, for instance, the counting of Fibonacci sequence of numbers.. It was confusing. I think I will write one.