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The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure Paperback – May 1, 2000

by Hans Magnus Enzensberger (Author), Rotraut Susanne Berner (Illustrator), Michael Henry Heim (Translator)

157 customer reviews

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The international best-seller that makes mathematics a thrilling exploration.

In twelve dreams, Robert, a boy who hates math, meets a Number Devil, who leads him to discover the amazing world of numbers: infinite numbers, prime numbers, Fibonacci numbers, numbers that magically appear in triangles, and numbers that expand without. As we dream with him, we are taken further and further into mathematical theory, where ideas eventually take flight, until everyone - from those who fumble over fractions to those who solve complex equations in their heads - winds up marveling at what numbers can do.

Hans Magnus Enzensberger is a true polymath, the kind of superb intellectual who loves thinking and marshals all of his charm and wit to share his passions with the world. In The Number Devil, he brings together the surreal logic of Alice in Wonderland and the existential geometry of Flatland with the kind of math everyone would love, if only they had a number devil to teach it to them.

The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure

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Product Details

Age Range: 10 and up
Grade Level: 5 - 08
Lexile Measure: 580L (What's this?)

Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Picador (August 18, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0805062998
ISBN-13: 978-0805062991
Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 0.7 x 9.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (157 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #62 in Books > Science & Math > Mathematics
- #63 in Books > Children's Books > Education & Reference > Reading & Writing
- #368 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works

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Customer Reviews

157

4.5 out of 5 stars

5 star		69%
4 star		21%
3 star		4%
2 star		1%
1 star		5%

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

97 of 100 people found the following review helpful

An Excellent Book to Interest Children in Mathematics

By Bill Schwabenland on December 27, 1999

Format: Hardcover

I checked this book out of the library to read to my 8 year old daughter (she wanted me to read "Flatland" to her and I thought the dated language might get in the way). She loved it and now I plan to purchase two copies; one for her and one for my 12 year old son. The book jacket decribed the book as a cross between Flatland and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I would have described it as a cross between Flatland an The Phantom Tollbooth, but, no matter. It definitely provides food for thought for any reasonably inquisitive child; and may provide more for a child already interested in mathematics.
I had read several biographies of famous scientific or mathematical type people who credited Bell's "The Men of Science" as sparking their initial interest in math. I was searching for something more appropriate for a young girl. While this wasn't ideal in that regard (e.g. there's a mention of the fact that their aren't many women in "Number Heaven" with a half-hearted apology that this was changing), I do believe that this can at least serve as kindling for a later fire of interest.
Each chapter takes place in a dream between the books protagonist (Robert) and his "Number Devil"; a sort of less than sainthood guru status. Each dream takes on a different example of mathematical interest, primarily from Number Theory. Should be of interest to children from six to sixteen. The protagonist is twelve.
Highly recommended.

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47 of 50 people found the following review helpful

Easy read, but good book....

By A Customer on March 20, 2004

Format: Paperback

Crossing the story Alice in Wonderland with a small, red, fiery-tempered devil with a passion for numbers gives you The Number Devil, a perfect tale with funny and curious characters.
Robert hates math, and he gets irritated because his math teacher doesn't allow calculators in class. In addition to that, he has peculiar dreams all the time. Then, one night, completely out of the blue, he dreams about a Number Devil, who takes him away to a fantastic world of numbers. Robert learns all about different mathematical ideas and concepts in a fun way. Over the course of 12 different nights, Robert learns about simple math ideas like factorials, fractions, the importance of zero, and the idea of infinity. But Robert's adventures don't stop there; Robert also learns about more complex things like triangle numbers, Fibonacci numbers, imaginary numbers, and irrational numbers. The Number Devil makes up funny terms in order to explain these to Robert. Square roots are called "rutabagas," prime numbers are "prima donnas," squaring becomes "number hopping," the Fibonacci sequence is called "the Bonacci numbers, " and factorials are named "vrooms."
Did you know that you can take any even number larger than two and find two prime numbers that add up to it? The Number Devil presents different mathematical ideas to Robert, using funny things like furry calculators and coconuts. Even Robert uses what he learns in his dreams in class. For example, the Number Devil uses coconuts to show Robert what triangular numbers are. He uses the coconuts to make triangles on the ground, and he comes up with the first ten triangular numbers: 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, 28, 36, 45, and 55. Next, he comes up with a little rule for triangular numbers: Any number greater than 1 can be the sum of two or three triangle numbers.Read more ›

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33 of 34 people found the following review helpful

Its a good book

By BPM on February 21, 2000

Format: Hardcover

I am nine years old. It was a good book. I like that it was about adventure and math and a story and you could do activities from the book. I liked the triangle numbers, the prima-donna numbers, Bonacci. I especially liked going to number hell and meeting all the number devils, and seeing the imaginative guy and the funny drinking glasses. I liked that Pascal's triangle had so many interesting things you could do with it.

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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

A great read

By A Customer on May 13, 1999

Format: Hardcover

The Number Devil is one of the best books I have ever read. I am only 11 years old and even though it explored mathematical theories, I thought it was an amazing novel which was unputdownable. Robert is the main character in the story, and each night he dreams of the number devil. The number devil teaches Robert different mathematical aspects in a way which is simple to understand. Most of my maths class at school has read it and they also agree that it's a great book. I highly reccomend this for anyone from 10 plus.

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45 of 51 people found the following review helpful

This is a great book! :o)

By starlight_ha on December 19, 1999

Format: Hardcover

I read this book for the first time not quite a year ago, and I loved it! Now I'm 13, and just recently lent the book to my gr. 8 math teacher-who thought it was amazing. This is a cute approach to challenging math topics. Now I'm doing a book report on The Number Devil and just want to say that this book is not only a wonderful novel with well developped characters, but a wonderful teaching tool and learning book. A fantastic mix between a text book and a novel with some humour thrown in. I love it!

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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful

A Fun Mathematical Journey

By Hank Waddles on November 30, 1998

Format: Hardcover

In a children's book reminiscent of The Phantom Tollbooth, the reader is taken along on a magical journey of mathematical discovery. Robert is a twelve-year-old boy who detests math, mainly because his math teacher, Mr. Bockel, is incredibly boring. To the rescue comes the Number Devil, a creature who visits Robert in a series of twelve dreams. During each dream the Number Devil explains different mathematical mysteries and reveals the beauty and simplicity of numbers. In the end, both Robert and the reader gain a new appreciation for math.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

I read this to my 6 and 7 year old children and they both loved it....

I bought this after a recommendation from a professor at Kellogg Business School (Northwestern University in Chicago). Read more

Published 14 days ago by M E Piper

Math frustration be gone!

This book is fun for children to get acquainted with and understand math concepts. I bought this for my daughter when she was in 4th grade and feeling anxiety around math testing. Read more

Published 20 days ago by Beth Ann Locke

A Strange Book

Originally published in German (1997), this is a very interesting book which reveals many properties about numbers which I knew existed but with which I was not directly... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Claudia Etheridge

But is a pretty interesting book too

This is our teacher's assignment. But is a pretty interesting book too.

Published 1 month ago by James Meng

this is a pretty informative read

Anybody that struggles with math or has difficulty understanding the importance of it, this is a pretty informative read. Read more

Published 1 month ago by JonnyTrump

Math will never be dull again

A wonderful book --- and a perfect way to open minds up to the fun and fascinating world of numbers. For adults as well as kids!!

Published 1 month ago by Prof. McGonagall

Five Stars

It was very entertaining

Published 2 months ago by Clare F.

A Great Resource for Math Teachers

Engaging students in the classroom has always been a challenge for teachers, and this is especially true in math education. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Sarah Nash Ferris

it does a wonderful job of introducing some fairly complex...

The Number Devil by Hans Magnus Enzensberger is a pleasant introduction for children to the world of number theory and theoretical mathematics. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Alexander While

Four Stars

Great buy !!!

Published 3 months ago by Amazon Customer

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