What's the biggest mathematical mystery in nature? Fibonacci numbers! The pattern creeps up in the most unexpected places. It's clear that math holds secrets to nature and that nature holds secret numbers. - (Baker & Taylor)

Provides an introduction to Fibonacci numbers as revealed in the growing patterns of flower petals, pinecones, pineapple skins, and nautilus shells. - (Baker & Taylor)

The biggest mathematical mystery in nature—Fibonacci numbers! Named after a famous mathematician, the number pattern is simple: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13. . . . Each number in the sequence comes from adding the two numbers before it. What's the mystery? The pattern crops up in the most unexpected places. You'll find it in the disk of a sunflower, the skin of a pineapple, and the spiral of a nautilus shell. No one knows how nature came up with the sequence. Sarah C. and Richard P. Campbell introduce the Fibonacci sequence through a series of stunning photographs in this ALA Notable Children's Book. Young readers will soon be seeing nature through new eyes, looking for Fibonacci numbers in daisies, pinecones, leaf patterns, seashells, and more. - (Perseus Publishing)

ALSC Notable Children's Book

A wonderful introduction to one of the most beautiful connections between mathematics and the natural world–the Fibonacci sequence–through a series of stunning nature photographs.

Discover the biggest mathematical mystery in nature—Fibonacci numbers! Named after a famous mathematician, the number pattern is simple and starts with: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13. Each number in the sequence comes from adding the two numbers before it. What's the mystery? The pattern crops up in the most unexpected places. You'll find it in the disk of a sunflower, the skin of a pineapple, and the spiral of a nautilus shell.

This book brings math alive, celebrates science, and will inspire kids to see nature through new eyes. - (Random House, Inc.)

Sarah C. Campbell is the author of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor book Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator. Her writing has appeared in a variety of publications, including Highlights for Children and the New York Times. She lives in Jackson, Mississippi.

Richard P. Campbell is co-photographer of the acclaimed children's nonfiction book Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator. He lives in Jackson, Mississippi. - (Boyds Mills Pr)

Booklist Reviews

This book introduces the Fibonacci sequence, which begins 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13. Each new number is determined by adding the two preceding it. The presentation uses color photos of flowers with different numbers of petals to illustrate the beginning of the sequence, follows up with photographs highlighting the different spirals seen on pinecones, sunflowers, and pineapples, and includes a picture showing the chambers in a cut-away nautilus shell. The design of the first series of illustrations graphically expresses the Fibonacci sequence by beginning with very small photos and gradually increasing their size in proportion to the numbers in sequence. The book's intended audience is unclear. The short, simple text on some early pages ("This is a flowering quince. Count the petals.") will probably put off older readers, while young children may have difficulty even predicting the next number in the sequence, much less understanding the appended "More about Fibonacci Numbers" page. Though the Fibonacci sequence is seldom taught in elementary schools, teachers wanting to introduce it will find the basic ideas here, illustrated with attractive photos.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

With its glossy, clutter-free pages; crisp, colorful photographs; and clear, straight-to-the-point text, this interactive picture book is an attractive, satisfying introduction to the Fibonacci sequence; a lone seed and a peace lily with its single petal are presented as the first two elements. Photographs of pinecones, pineapples, and sunflowers help demonstrate the concept. "More About Fibonacci Numbers" is appended. Glos. Copyright 2010 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

With its glossy, clutter-free pages; crisp, colorful photographs; and clear, straight-to-the-point text, this interactive picture book by the creators of Wolfsnail (rev. 7/08) is an attractive, satisfying introduction to the Fibonacci sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8... A lone seed and a peace lily with its single petal are presented as the first two elements of the number pattern. Readers are then asked to count the petals on a crown of thorns (2), a spiderwort (3), a flowering quince (5), and a cosmos (8). Each new flower is pictured in an increasingly larger square with dimensions linked to its number of petals (e.g., the spider-wort is shown in a three-by-three square, the quince in a five-by-five square, etc.). Campbell then shows readers how the Fibonacci numbers relate to each other: adding each pair of numbers yields the next number in the sequence (1 + 1 = 2; 1 + 2 = 3; 2 + 3 = 5, and so on). Photographs of pinecones, pineapples, and sunflowers reveal even larger Fibonacci numbers, and the squares enclosing the flowers (the seed, peace lily, crown of thorns, etc.) are redrawn and connected by a spiral, just like the kind formed in a nautilus shell. To clear up any possible misconceptions, Campbell points out that non-Fibonacci numbers are also found in nature ("A dogwood has 4 petals"), and she also notes that mathematicians in ancient India had recognized the number pattern long before the Italian mathematician Fibonacci. "More About Fibonacci Numbers" and a glossary are appended. Copyright 2010 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

In nature, the number series called Fibonacci numbers (1,1,2,3,5,8,13...) often appears in the arrangement of petals or spiral patterns in plants and animals. This math-and-science title is another beautiful photo-essay by the creators of Wolfsnail (2008). A spare, simple text introduces the idea that plants carry genetic instructions for their development, often including a mathematical pattern. Readers are engaged in the process of discovering the pattern by the repeated question, "Can you count…?" Beginning with a tiny photo of a seed followed by an equally tiny single-petal flower and then going on with increasingly larger photographs, the design reinforces the concepts of the series and a logarithmic spiral. Spirals in pine cones and pineapples are artificially colored to accentuate the pattern. Pointing out that not all plants and animals exhibit this arrangement, the author concludes by inviting readers to take a closer look outside. The backmatter makes clear that the nautilus-shell curve shown is not quite a golden spiral. This clear demonstration of complex ideas will be welcomed in elementary classrooms. (more about Fibonacci numbers, glossary) (Informational picture book. 5-9) Copyright Kirkus 2010 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

This husband-and-wife team, who collaborated on Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator, turn their attention to the Fibonacci sequence of numbers, employing photographs from nature, basic addition, and reader-directed text to explain it. Beginning with an image of a seed, Campbell moves through the first numbers, adding images of flowers with petals that match Fibonacci numbers (the flowers are set within boxes sized to correspond to the numbers as well). By the time readers reach a yellow cosmos, with eight petals, the flowers take up an entire page, laying visual groundwork for a later representation of the numbers as a spiral. The Campbells also explore more complex appearances of the sequence in nature and note that while Fibonacci popularized these numbers, they had already been known to Indian scholars. Besides being eye-catching, the photographs ought to prove invaluable for visual learners (spiral patterns in a pinecone are darkened for visibility). Kids should be left with a clear understanding of the pattern and curious about its remarkable prevalence in nature. Ages 5–11. (Mar.)

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 3–6—This slim, attractive volume makes clear the appearance and significance of Fibonacci numbers in nature, both through simple, precise explanations and eye-catching photographs. With plenty of white space and crisp images, the design of the book is appealing. Details about Fibonacci himself, other interesting mathematical concepts such as the "golden ratio," and a glossary are included. With such an obscure topic, this book may have a difficult time finding an audience, but math teachers looking to add an interesting element to a lesson will find this a solid choice, and future mathematicians will be drawn into the magic and mystery of Fibonacci numbers.—Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA