Numbers in Motion tells the inspiring story of Sophie Kowalevski. Kowalevski was a nineteenth century mathematician. She managed to study advanced mathematics. Find a post as a mathematics professor. And solve some of the most intractable problems facing math at the time.

In this book, Laurie Wallmark introduces us to Sophie as a child. The text describes in simple, easy-to-understand terms her landmark mathematics discoveries. It also celebrates her remarkable achievements in a society that kept trying to steer her away from math.

The art, by Yevgenia Nayberg, is evocative and lovely. I was especially taken by the book design. Various spreads use empty space very effectively throughout. And the text is in a wonderful typeface that’s clean and self-effacing, sending the reader’s attention right back to the lucid prose.

Laurie talks about the book in this video link, from a book event the two of us did together (available through 29 May 2020).

Another book about a woman mathematician a century later.

Numbers in Motion: Sophie Kowalevski, Queen of Mathematics by Laurie Wallmark, illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg. (Creston: 2020).