Seriously, Amazon, you really want to know what I thought of this title?
My Fibonacci book mentioned on public radio show Harmonia Early Music
My Fibonacci book got an unexpected plug today on the website of the nationally syndicated public radio program Harmonia Early Music. The program occasionally chooses dates in history at random and provides a little history and music about what was going on then.
Harmonia’s chosen year 1250 was a bad one for Fibonacci. It’s the year he most likely died, during an occurrence of the plague in Pisa, Italy. The program’s audio is lushly scored; you can check out the mp3 at the link above. The written transcript is here, along with the link to my book.
2018 Update: Indiana Public Radio’s permalink omits the transcript, music playlist, and the reference to my book, but you can still listen to the audio of the show.
What you need to know about my book, BLOCKHEAD, about Fibonacci
BLOCKHEAD: THE LIFE OF FIBONACCI is a charming picture book that is a fictionalized story of the real-life mathematician Leonardo of Pisa. He journeyed to Northern Africa to work in his father’s business more than 800 years ago. He was surprised to learn that the citizens of his new home didn’t use Roman numerals. He traveled the world of the Mediterranean learning all he could about the strange new Hindu-Arabic numerals. Then he wrote books to teach western Europeans how to calculate with them.
The man we now call Fibonacci is largely responsible for converting Europe from I-II-III to 1-2-3. But he’s mostly remembered for a series of numbers known as the Fibonacci Sequence, which describes how many objects thrive and flourish in nature.
PRAISE
“…the clearest explanation to date for younger readers
of the numerical sequence that is found throughout nature and still bears his name.” —BOOKLIST
“Charming and accessible…”—NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
* “The lively text includes touches of humor; Emperor Frederick called him ‘one smart cookie.’ O’Brien’s signature illustrations textured with thin lines re-create a medieval setting.” —KIRKUS REVIEWS, starred review
“Math lover or not, readers should succumb to the charms of this highly entertaining biography of medieval mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci.” —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY