The Big Book of Pi: The Famous Number You Can Never Know
by Jean-Baptiste Aubin

3 out of 5 stars

This book takes a fun look at the math behind Pi and the history of mathematicians who first discovered the many decimal points of this amazing number! It’s explained in a simple way for children to understand, and written with a lot of cute jokes and witty anecdotes to keep readers engaged.

The illustrations are colorful and cute with little cartoon characters to explain the math concepts. There are also quotes and little caricatures of famous mathematicians and scientists from history with their own wisdom to share.

There is one mention that for “millions of years, the world existed” without anyone knowing about Pi. That seemed odd in a math book, to mention a theory about the age of the universe, but not clarify that it’s a theory. It is mentioned as if the age of the universe were a fact. I wish they would be more clear about what is fact and what is theory.

There is also a whole section about how the Bible mentions Pi, and the book claims that the Bible got it wrong for claiming that Pi=3, and that mathematicians were stifled for centuries because the Christian church wouldn’t allow anyone to make scientific discoveries if it seemed to disprove the Bible. This book asks “Would you be willing to die for telling the truth about Pi?” That whole section is grossly misrepresenting both the Bible and the Christian church, and taking history out of context. The authors are obviously attacking the Bible and Christians by telling their own version of history and misleading the reader.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.