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The Cat in Numberland

by Ivar Ekeland

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434587,676 (3.75)None
At Mr. and Mrs. Hilbert's Hotel Infinity, the resident cat is puzzled. The hotel is fully booked -- the rooms are full of Numbers, both Odds and Evens -- yet guests continue to arrive. When Zero shows up, there's a massive room switching, and he stays, even though Mr. Hilbert insists he's not really a Number. Then the Letters appear and everyone still has a room, even though no Numbers have left. No matter how many guests arrive or depart, the hotel accommodates them all, and is always full. But when the Fractions arrive, demanding rooms, real chaos threatens. Can an ingenious solution be found to house them all? Based on mathematician David Hilbert's famous paradox of the Grand Hotel,The Cat in Numberland offers a refreshingly clear explanation of infinity for readers of all ages. John O'Brien's imaginative line drawings further elucidate the complex concept, as well as simple functions like addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication.… (more)
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English (3)  Italian (1)  All languages (4)
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Perplexed cat. Hotel Infinity. What wasn't to like?
Let Z stay up late and skip a shower to finish this one. ( )
1 vote beckydj | Mar 31, 2013 |
This is a cute book with well-drawn illustrations. Its mission is to impart a mathematical understanding of infinity to young people and it is down in a rather clever fashion. The big task is how to fit Zero in a room when Hotel Infinity's rooms are all "filled up." ( )
  vpfluke | Apr 10, 2010 |
With thin pencil lines, in black and white cartoon fashion, O’Brien creates an imaginary world where numbers live in the Hotel Infinity, run by Mr. & Mrs. Hilbert and their white cat (who mostly sleeps peacefully curled up by the fireplace), where there is a room number 1 but no last room. The numbers know four games: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The only game they don’t like is division because not all of them can play. The story covers the inclusion of letters standing in for numbers (like math problems), fractions, and its all done in fun cartoonesque fashion, that even if the cat can’t figure it out and has to move to Corsica (where the Hotel has only 20 rooms, so no numbers or letters can visit) the 9-12 reader will.
If You Liked This, Try: Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Sea Horse: The Shyest Fish in the Sea by Chris Butterworth, Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways by Laura McGee Kvasnosky, Robert and the Practical Jokes by Barbara Seuling, Invisible by Katia Kamm. ( )
  avcr | Dec 15, 2007 |
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At Mr. and Mrs. Hilbert's Hotel Infinity, the resident cat is puzzled. The hotel is fully booked -- the rooms are full of Numbers, both Odds and Evens -- yet guests continue to arrive. When Zero shows up, there's a massive room switching, and he stays, even though Mr. Hilbert insists he's not really a Number. Then the Letters appear and everyone still has a room, even though no Numbers have left. No matter how many guests arrive or depart, the hotel accommodates them all, and is always full. But when the Fractions arrive, demanding rooms, real chaos threatens. Can an ingenious solution be found to house them all? Based on mathematician David Hilbert's famous paradox of the Grand Hotel,The Cat in Numberland offers a refreshingly clear explanation of infinity for readers of all ages. John O'Brien's imaginative line drawings further elucidate the complex concept, as well as simple functions like addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication.

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