Lines, Bars and Circles: How William Playfair Invented Graphs

Reviewed by: Sarah Cropley - Scarborough Public Library, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: January 9, 2018

Review

Lines, Bars and Circles: How William Playfair Invented Graphs is a picture book biography of William Playfair. Helaine Becker draws the reader through Playfair's early life, his education and professional life, as well as how he thought up the first graphs. Unfortunately, graphs were not respected by mathematicians and scientists of the time, though they are vitally important today. Becker also includes small information boxes that lend contextual information, as well as an afterword that gives more detail and has actual pictures of Playfair's graphs. Marie-Eve Tremblay's illustrations are comic and exaggerated which may appeal to some readers and offput others. Overall a solid biography, particularly for a school library for use during graphing units.

Overall Book Score: good