The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos Hardcover – Picture Book, June 25, 2013

My daughter (6 yrs old) likes numbers, so I was looking for something number related and after I read the book and she has asked for additional readings. The illustrations are interesting and engaging. We talk about positive and negative numbers using one of the illustrations. However, it does include some oddly difficult topics which distract from the main theme. Was it necessary to mention that he was arrested for trespassing and subsequently denied entry into the US for a decade? Granted it happened by accident due to his absent-mindedness, but now I have to explain what is arrested? why is he tresspassing? what is a spy? I tend to skip over that page--otherwise, "...yes dear, that's why you shouldn't jump over a fence into areas that have sensitive communications equipment, you can can be arrested." If the book was for older readers, then it may be worth including, but it detracts from the overall positive message in the book. The second odd item they mention was that his mom was afraid of him catching germs in school so she took him out of his early years in school, that was also to accomodate the fact that he was not keen on school early on--again I don't want to suggest to my daughter that she is in danger of getting sick at school or have to explain that Erdos Mom was probably needlessly paranoid.My daughter seemed ok with the passages indicating he was socially awkward and different. I thought that was fine since it shows that people can be different and experience the world in different ways. It probably also makes him interesting to a young reader. Overall 5 Stars because it is a successful adaptation of a biography for young readers and manages to show how a person could love numbers from an early age. Skip over the awkward bits.

A surprising look at an unusual person. Many can identify andbe reassured that there is not only one way to live or look at things. Many of us don't like rules, but we can find positive ways to work together and help one another and learn more with creativity and friendliness.

My five and seven year old boys really enjoyed this book. They hung on every word and were just interested learning about an accomplished person in an approachable way. They like that it is a true story and they both love math so they liked the numbers too. I disagree with people who said kids can't understand concepts like prime numbers etc. when reading it. My kids have a basic understanding of prime numbers and they liked talking about it when we got to that section and counting the prime numbers with me. The other concepts that even I don't know much about were just mentions and they could understand that they were math terms they hadn't learned yet but might be interesting to them in the future. They also found all the parts about him not being able to butter his bread to be amusing and relatable. We don't read it every day but it is a nice addition to our library! And it's nice to have a picture book that will be appropriate for them even when they're older.

I bought this book for my 7 year old son who is loves math. I love how it talks about how Paul Erdos was absolutely amazing at math but couldn't butter his own bread. I think it is a good reminder for kids that no one is good at everything. I also liked that it used a lot of numbers and talks about prime numbers and negative numbers. My son thought it was really fun to learn about some of these math concepts he hasn't learned in school yet. Even thought this book contains math it is very much a story book, some math books that I looked at were more like a workbook but this is not. It has great colorful illustrations . It would be a great book for any child whether they like math or not but is especially fun for kids with a knack for math.

I so enjoyed this book, The Boy Who Loved Math, about the mathematician Paul Erdos. It is written and illustrated in such a way that a reader of any age can learn about this intelligent, yet quirky man who so loved Math and made it his life to enrich others with it also.I learned a neat way to use a chart to figure out all prime numbers which I will share with my middle school students. The illustrations were ingenious and it is important that each reader finish the book by enjoying the illustrator's comments and explanations regarding her attempt to be as authentic as possible.The author's notes at the end tell much more personal history of Erdos also. Much of his life was filled with sadness, and yet he persevered through, protected by his mother to soften the blow of each event. Probably the most important part of his personal life is that he took his inability to care for himself, and traded his worldly knowledge of Math for the hep from others to take care of his basic needs. How ingenious!

I love every single thing about this book - that Heiligman thought Erdős was an important subject, how she portrayed Erdős as original and thoughtful but not an odd misfit, the descriptive and informative writing, the mathematical and biographical information it conveys in a fun way, the incredibly detailed illustrations by LeUyen Pham, and the extensive author's and illustrator's notes at the end. I read the text in a very short time, but this is a book that I'm going to keep by my reading chair so I can peruse the illustrations in detail and learn even more. I've read adult biographies about Erdős, and while they were interesting, they were often a collection of rote facts or snippets of his life. The Boy Who Loved Math manages to show Erdős as a real person who loved math and why his life, the way he lived it, his contributions, and math itself are all so important. I'm very proud of my older son's Erdős number of 4, and even more so after reading this book.