The Four Operations’ Revenge

Jacopo Olivieri was born in Verona in 1966. He spent his childhood between the countryside just outside the city and Ivory Coast, thanks to his father’s work (who was an architect and set designer). Since he was a child, he had a passion for reading and drawing, and he nurtured interests that are still reflected in his books: the imaginary in general, ancient legends, prehistoric animals, museums, monster stories, and exploring abandoned and mysterious places.

After finishing classical high school and a brief attempt at Natural Sciences at the University of Bologna, he pursued his first career as a comic book author. At the same time, he spent decades working in theater (set design, costumes) both in his home country and abroad and experimenting as an illustrator wherever he could (carton packaging, Swatch shops, educational publishing, records, toys…).

His life took a turn when he had the adventure of meeting Pierdomenico Baccalario, who proposed that he write books for children and young readers. Since then, he has published with Italy's major publishing houses, as well as a few abroad.

Germano Pettarin is from Pordenone. He is a mathematics teacher at a public high school and at the universities of Venice and Padua. In addition, he is a consultant and computer science instructor for companies and training organizations. He holds two degrees, one in Computer Science and the other in Information Science. He is the author of manuals in mathematics and computer science with major publishers such as Mondadori, Zanichelli, Cedam, as well as books on mathematical and computer games. In recent years, he has published numerous illustrated stories with the publishing house Einaudi Ragazzi. Among his works are titles such as The Island of Multiplication Tables and The Doctor of Numbers. His goal is to present mathematics to children and young people in a fun way, presenting it as discovery and play.