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BOOK REVIEW                                   ZASLAVSKY

   In the postscript to the story, Beatrice Lumpkin writes:

   The story of Senefer is taken from the life of Ah'mose the 
   scribe and Senmut, an advisor to Pharoh Hatshepsut. It was 
   Ah'mose who wrote, 3500 years ago, the papyrus from which we 
   have learned the most about Egyptian mathematics.
     The real hero of this story is the African people of Egypt 
   who developed the first system of written numbers. 
   Mathematics and science are part of the African heritage 
   which has enriched the whole human race.

   We first see the boy Senefer as he accompanies his mother, Nefert, and his small brother, Pepi, to market where Nefert sells her homemade wood dolls. We learn that bread was used a currency in the market, that Egyptians were the first to make paper, glass, chairs, beds and mosquito netting, that Egyptian children played games still popular today. Later, the Pharoh's fleet arrives dragging the huge stones that will form two great obelisks, and we watch with bated breath as the obelisks are raised into position.
   It was no accident that the author chose to set the story during the reign of the celebrated Hat-shep-sut, "one of Egypt's greatest rulers. Hers was a reign of peace and many new buildings. There had been other great women who had ruled Egypt. But Hatshepsut was the only one who took the name of Pharaoh."
   A direct line extends from the numbers of ancient Egypt to the numeration system we use today. Both are based on grouping by tens and powers of ten. Young Senefer imitates his mother, a self-taught woman, in writing the symbols and doing simple problems in addition. This skill so impresses the scribes that they invite the boy to enter the select "House of Life," the school for training scribes. Here he learns to calculate the quantity of wheat by the Egyptian method of multiplication by doubling. The problem, presented in both ancient hieroglyphic and modern Hindo-Arabic notation, will challenge the reader to attempt similar computations.
   Although the reading level is suitable for children in middle and upper elementary grades, even a preschooler would be attracted to the story and illustrations. The book is an open invitation to children to share Senefer's learning experiences. Peggy Lipschutz's drawings appear on every page, and add detail and vitality to the story.
   In these days of rapidly rising prices, A Young Genius in Old Egypt is a rare bargain at $2.50. Send for ten copies at $1.50 each* and give them to your friends' children, local school and library. This book will combat more than one stereotype.
                                            Claudia Zaslavsky
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*In quantity, order from B. Lumpkin, 7123 S. Grandon, Chicago 60649.