Number Stories of Long Ago (Color Edition)

by David Eugene Smith

Join the Story-Teller as night after night he entertains a crowd of children gathered round the fire with stories of what might really have happened when the world was young. He shares stories of how boys and girls used to write numbers in long ago times, with Ching writing on palm leaves, Lugal on bricks, and Hippias on parchment. And how through the ages they devised various ways of adding, multiplying, and div-iding. At the close of each evening he leaves the children with questions to ponder or situations to puzzle over. The book concludes with a series of number puzzles and curious problems for further reflection by all ages.

Genres: Mathematics, School, History, Childrens

156 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1919

About the author

David Eugene Smith was an American mathematician, educator, and editor.

Reviews

[Kathy]

I'm not a mathematician, and I have trouble following the number-puzzles at the end. But this book was delightful, nevertheless. I enjoyed learning about early systems of writing numbers and the development of the number system we currently use. It's much more recent than I had realized! Little bite-sized chapters told in children's story form make this book easy to read. Not scholarly, but fun.

[Mariah Dawn]

A fun book we read in morning time!

Following boys from around the world, you learn how they came to know math: learn to write numbers, add, multiply, etc. There are many illustrations, perfect for Book of Century entries.

The last few chapters are full of number puzzles we enjoyed working through—even if we did get many of them wrong! 🤣

[Catie]

Very fun presentation about the progression of mathematical thought and discovery, but in a challenging way that makes you think. The last two pages are all a quick succession of number puzzles told in story form. My particular edition of this book came with an insert that gives the answers to the puzzles, but those answers are not at all in the main text. If you have a child that loves to work out number puzzles, this is a great book for them.

[Kaycee Owens]

I REALLY enjoyed this alongside the boys. We are nerds and enjoy puzzles and numbers so the last 2 chapters took us so long to get through. Of course we had to try and figure out all the questions!

[Alex N]

a bit confusing but good book and interesting puzzles