The Number Devil is an incredibly unique, smart and creative book. It tells the story of a young boy named Robert who finds math both frustrating and boring. He suffers from a difficult, intimidating instructor, so much so that he begins to have very odd dreams.
In the dreams, he is visited by the Number Devil, a teacher of sorts who is determined to educate this young man in the most important mathematical concepts. The Number Devil, unsurprisingly, thinks very highly of math and wants Robert to not only learn it, but appreciate its beauty and power. Each chapter is a different night's dream and lesson.
You may think that convincing your children to read such a book would be a hard sell, but The Number Devil is very funny as well as interesting and is filled with inventive illustrations. The book does teach concepts along the way, but it is far from a text book. The words used to represent and explain the concepts are of another world.
As Robert grows more and more confident, so will your child. By the time you finish The Number Devil, numbers have become things to play with, explore, and master. It's a challenging and fun read, and an especially good choice to read aloud with your son or daughter.
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