Edmund Harriss

Poetry about math or science is always one of my favorite ways to show kids how fun these disciplines can be. This book, written by the mathematician-and-poet team Edmund Harriss and Houston Hughes, and illustrated by longstanding New York Times artist Brian Rea, is as entertaining as promised.

This is at heart a counting book, but one that begins with zero, or as they write:

“Zip, Zero, Zilch, or Diddly-Squat.
Null or Nil or Nada or Naught.”

But they don’t just make amusing rhymes, they teach you about what the numbers can do, both alone and in combination.

The book goes from zero to five, but the authors suggest going higher by adding new ones, which will mean:


“new shapes to make,
New patterns to find, and new groups to create…
Can you split them in two? Do they have symmetry?
Can you turn them to triangles, teamed up in threes?
Can you add your Ones up, and then fling them apart,
So the space in your brain’s like a sky full of stars?”

They point out: “The best part of numbers is, they never end!”

Illustrator Brian Rea added “characters” made of big-eyed colorful circles that cavort through the numerical universe, and which will appeal greatly to the intended audience of 3 and over.… (mehr)