Zero! The Number That Almost Wasn't

How did math work before zero existed? A STEM nonfiction book that unpacks a fascinating history of a number we can’t imagine our current world without.

From place value to being created and destroyed before being created again, zero has had quite a journey. Respected children’s author and consummate researcher Sarah Albee lays out the history of zero alongside the complications that initially hampered its development, including Western imperialism.

A riveting nonfiction kids book with a playful feel, Zero! unravels a complicated history in tremendous detail.

Sarah Albee is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 100 books for kids, including Troublemakers in Trousers and Accidental Archaeologists: True Stories of Unexpected Discoveries. Prior to being a full-time writer, Sarah worked at Children’s Television Workshop (producers of Sesame Street) for nine years. She played basketball in college, and then a year of semiprofessional women’s basketball in Cairo, Egypt. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Chris Hsu is a classically-trained and versatile artist who has worked in greeting-card illustration, advertising, and animation, including as a bakground artist on the animated FX spy comedy Archer. He is the illustrator of I Am Someone Else, The Boo-Boos That Changed the World, and Madame Speaker. www.chrishsu.net