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Pythagoras and the Ratios Spiral-Bound | 2010-02-01

Julie Ellis Phyllis Hornung Peacock (Illustrated by)

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Julie Ellis and Phyllis Hornung Peacock team up once again to explore Pythagorean ratios in this humorous sequel to WHAT'S YOUR ANGLE, PYTHAGORAS?

Pythagoras and his cousins want to win a music contest, but first they must figure out how to play their instruments in tune, something that's never been done before.
While trying to fix the problem, Pythagoras makes an important discovery--notes that sound pleasant together have a certain mathematical relationship. When Pythagoras applies this ratio to his cousins' pipes and lyres, the result is music to the ears.
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Original Binding: Trade Paperback
Pages: 32 pages
ISBN-10: 1570917760
Item Weight: 0.4 lbs
Dimensions: 8.6 x 0.2 x 9.5 inches

In ancient Greece, a young musician makes exciting discoveries. The boy Pythagoras, brimming with curiousity, steps up to help when his friend Octavius might be unable to compete in an upcoming musical contest. The problem is an awful noise coming from Octavius's new pipes. With a stylus, clay tablet, measuring cord and his sharp wits, mathematician-to-be Pythagoras figures out the relationship between pipe length and resultant sound and helps fashion a perfectly pitched set of pipes for Octavius. The lyres of his friends Amara and Reyna provide a more difficult challenge, one that Pythagoras solves (in a race against the clock) with scales and tiny rocks. He does it so successfully that he and his friends form Pythagoras and the Ratios...the first rock group! The book's educational aspects are fascinating--both the text and the acrylic-and-colored-pencil illustrations bring these to life--but it's flat-footed on the story's narrative aspects, both visually and textually. Helpful addenda provide interesting information on Pythagoras and the application of his ratios to music.

- Kirkus Reviews

Julie Ellis is the author of many books for children, including WHAT'S YOUR ANGLE, PYTHAGORAS, which she wrote as a way to show her daughter the uses of the Pythagorean Theorem. She lives in New Zealand.