Thursday, October 25, 2012

Of Numbers and Stars

Of Numbers and Stars
The Story of Hypatia
by D. Anne Love
illustrated by Pam Paparone


Women in Mathematics in Roman Egypt circa 400 AD. There were probably just a handful of them. Notable of them was Hypatia of Alexandria, daughter of mathematician Theon Alexandricus.

Of Numbers and Stars tells the story of one of the brilliant women of that period in history when women had very few rights, let alone the privilege to get an education.

Hypatia (High-pay-shah) had an insatiable thirst for learning, practicing and persevering till she gained mastery over that which she is learning, be it horse-back-riding, spear-fishing, boat-rowing, or poetry, mathematics, philosophy.

It is not often that a children's picture book biography manages to engage and motivate the child while presenting the illustrious life in a concise and accessible form. Most successful books in this genre seem to have a common thread: begin at the beginning - show the protagonist as a baby, as a child, and let the young reader connect with her/him.

Knowing Hypatia as a little girl, keen on learning whatever was taught to her, and excelling in it through diligence and dedication certainly kindled the 7-yo's interest, eager to know how she turned out as a grown-up.

Students from far and wide came to study under her masterly guidance. "Through her extraordinary roles as scholar, philosopher, writer, and teacher, she became a symbol of learned women for centuries to come."

The text is rich with description, yet crisp and fascinating, not tedious or bland. The illustrations are gorgeous, striking a wonderful balance with the story, highlighting the period in history while keeping the focus on the narration.

Author's Note section shares that Hypatia's death was the result of a tragic and intentional attack on her. Bibliography section indicates how little we know about this remarkable mathematician firsthand.

[image source: amazon.com]

3 comments:

sathish said...

interestingly we have atleast two books in this year's CROCUS that talks about Hypatia.

The cover illustration looks lovely.

ranjani.sathish said...

I now definitely want to pick up this book, after reading your review Sheela ! This would be a great accompaniment to the book "Mathematicians are People too".

Choxbox said...

Wow, what a wonderful pick Sheels. I think a copy of this book should live in our NGO library - will inspire so many of our girls.

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