Friend of Numbers by Priya Narayanan and Satwik Gade - ADVISABLE

Friend of Numbers: the life of mathematician Ramanujan by Priya Narayanan, illustrated by Satwik Gade. PICTURE BOOK BIOGRAPHY. Eerdmans, 2023. $18. 9780802856081 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO SOME 

Ramanujan, one of the Brahmin caste in India, was fascinated with numbers from his earliest days. He even failed every one of his college exams, except for mathematics, because all he could see was numbers. He even traveled to England to work with a mathematics professor at Cambridge. While there are few world famous mathematicians, Ramanujan is beloved not only in India, but is a very important part of our understanding of mathematics. 

There are few really good picture books about mathematicians - I am going to try to convince at least one of my math teachers to read this with their students. Narayanan's text is a little wordy, but infused with a lot of humor. Gade's illustrations add to the whimsy of the book, making it fun, instead of staid and boring. Ramanujan is from India. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS