The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos

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.

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.

This review written by my 7yo daughter: IT'S SO GOOD! I like that it includes prime numbers! 9 isn't a prime number, and I know that from the book! I LOVE IT! It's about the life of Paul Erdos, and it was a good story. He does not like school or rules.

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.

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.

This is a good book but a strange one. It definitely promotes an interest in math. My three-year-old asked in the first reading what negative numbers were. I told her they were numbers that were less than zero. She then asked what numbers were less than negative numbers. She also asked what prime numbers were and why they were special (I didn't have a very good pre-K answer for that one). You don't get that sort of conversation with other children's books. On the other hand, Paul Erdos himself was a pretty strange fellow, and the plot of his life doesn't make for obviously engaging children's reading. The part my three-year-old connected with the most was the part where Paul doesn't want to go to school because he doesn't want to be away from his mama, and he doesn't like rules. And the workaround that his mother comes up with is to homeschool him (lesson: if you hate rules and love your mama, she'll stay home with you all the time). That's not necessarily the sort of lesson you want your kid learning. My daughter also didn't connect with "Uncle Paul" as he grew up into a strange old man who couldn't even eat dinner without help from others. Having said that, she definitely likes the book and has asked for repeated readings (although she sometimes asks me to skip the parts where he's an old man). So, five stars for making a math-y book that is engaging for kids, and three stars for the sometimes strange life lessons of Paul Erdos, for an average of four stars.

This book details some highlights of the story of Paul Erdos, from his upbringing and love of numbers to his lifestyle as an itinerant mathematician who traveled the world, doing mathematics, and connecting the mathematical community together. The book is beautiful, the artwork captures the setting of Budapest and the artist has done extensive research to accurately reflect the stories, locations, and people who were involved with Erdos (and was in close communication with two of Erdos' closest friends for feedback and advice as the book progressed). The writing is equally good, with a lot of thought and care put into discussing Erdos' life. This will undoubtedly be the best children's book written about mathematicians and mathematics. It is a treasure and belongs in every young person's library (and also every mathematician's).

This book does an incredible job of capturing the quirkiness of Paul Erdös. The illustrations do justice to the poetic prose, and the end notes for parents and curious children are wonderful. I must admit that I'm a little biased (my Erdös number is 2), but this is one of the best biographies I've ever read. The text is simple but delightful, and the story of a boy who doesn't like to sit still will surely sit well with restless children. The mathematics in the story is simple (prime numbers cannot be evenly divided) and well explained, with hints at deeper math drawn into the buildings (a diagramatic proof of R(3,3)=6), and detailed explanations provided at the end (yes, those are the harmonic primes!). This is an excellent book to spark a child's curiosity, no matter what her interests might be.

This book gets you very inspired especially for people who don’t really like to do math. The book makes you feel like Paul,and makes you love math.

Deborah Heiligman has done an amazing job of telling of the story of the strangely marvelous mathematician Paul Erdos. His genious, his humanity, and his strangeness all come through in a way that is clear and engaging. LeUyen Pham has done an equally amazing job of illustrating it, adding layers to the story by illustrating not only the people and places involved, but also the math itself. You'll have to buy the book to find out how she does this, and I highly recommend your doing so!

Our sons, 5 and 6, love it and talk a lot about prime numbers now! Beautiful illustrations, well written, warm story. Great for gifted children to make them feel less alone.

My little boy's litteraly eaten this book ! (he's 8) funny & very instructive about the mathematician nicely illustrated, nice book

This is great. I'm happy it doesn't mention his drug use, that would have been an awkward conversation with my own little epsilon... But it's a great way to introduce brilliant minds to our future, and to help stop the fear of mathematics spreading.