Perspective

The perspective of Archimedes and the Door of Science is that of an author and teacher, Jeanne Bendick. She presents Archimedes in an exciting and reverent light. But this perspective seems to be not merely Bendick's own but her attempt to write a book about a scientist and mathematician in ancient times that interests children. Normally, books bore children, and books about science, mathematics or ancient history are enough to put most students to sleep. Combining them in a single book is a big risk. As a result, Bendick must struggle to make the book as engaging as possible.

Bendick also teaches throughout the book with diagrams, examples and suggested projects. There are diagrams of Archimedes's shapes and his additions to geometry. She lists examples of simple machines and asks the reader to generate some of her own and she suggests that teachers have students build a mobile...