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Shapes
What follows is is a short list of recommended (story) books, each with a strong focus on 'Shapes'.
Shapes in the Environment
The Shape of Things
A square is just a square until it becomes a house in this clever book. A circle becomes a spinning wheel, and when you add string and ribbon to one shape, it becomes a kite flying in the sky! With some energetic rhymes and superb illustrations this charming book reveals that shapes really are everywhere! A 'must have' topic book.
Candlewick Press £3.80
ISBN-13: 978-1564026989
A Triangle for Adaora
Adaora just won't eat her slice of paw-paw. Why? She doesn't want to spoil the star shape in the middle. This causes her cousin Ugo to find her a triangle instead. As they go in search of the triangle they see all kinds of shapes: rectangles, circles, crescent-shapes, and more... Just when Adaora is too tired to carry on looking, they find a triangle... and a treat! This charming book introduces children to shapes, African style, with warm words and photographs offering a real glimpse into Nigerian village life.
Frances Lincoln Children's Books £5.99
ISBN-13: 978-1845077389
2D Shapes
The Silly Story of Goldie Locks and the Three Squares
An alternative retelling of the Goldilocks tale; however, here Goldie makes a similar visit to a house with an unusual geometric twist. Part of a Scholastic reading scheme set, but also available separately.
Scholastic Books 1p (plus p&p) from Amazon
ISBN-13: 978-0590543446
The Greedy Triangle (Scholastic Bookshelf)
a fun tale of a Triangle that changes shape to take on the formj of a whole host of polygons: pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon, nonagon, and decagon. For the first shapes, the book outlines places they can be found (in nature and man-made objects). The book also has an excellent guide at the end for parents, teachers, and other adults, explaining the terms more precisely, and offering clear definitions.
Scholastic Paperbacks £4.00
ISBN-13: 978-0545042208
3D Shapes
Sir Cumference and the Knights of the First Round Table (A Math Adventure)
Part of a series of wonderfully illustrated stories, all of which are (arguably) essential for primary teachers. This one focuses on the geometry of a circle and is more suited to later Key stage 1 or early Key Stage 2 mathematics. Within the fun story are important facts about the radius, diameter and circumference of a circle. I found this one to be perfect to share with children at the end of a topic on shape... since they love spotting the humorous references to information they have just learnt.
ISBN-13: 978-1570911521
Comments
Captain Invincible and the Space Shapes
It's good to hear that the
It's good to hear that the website is proving so useful. We are in the process of updating and adapting the book reviews section - so we should have a whole 'sackful' of new content there in a few weeks time.
Many thanks for your comment. I would like to feature it on our new mathsticks/extra blog site, so look out for it there.
Wow. Never heard if this
@Steve
I do understand your point here, but I wrote my review describing how I and other teachers have used the story: as a way of reinforcing 'shape' vocabulary.
I agree with you: it is interestiing and amusing and colourful. I also tend to agree that it is not a 'mathematical adventure', and, that it doesn't explore number in any depth. But, to be fair, I didn't suggest that it did. The 'math adventure' text is part of the title, and it is a bit of an adventure and it does contain mathematical words... but that's it...
If you take it at face value, and use it with young children who are learning about 'shape' or geometry, I am certain you will get a good response.
Thank you for your comment - it is good to discuss these things.
Best,
John
A Suggestion for “Sir Cumference and the First Round Table”
Sugestion:
A Maths Option in “Sir Cumference and the First Round Table”
12 Knights, plus 1 King A long Table 20' x 5' How much space per person ?
Variation 1 Square Table 10' x 10' How much space per person ?
Variation 2 Parallelogram Table How long is the Diagonal ? How much space per person ?
Variation 3 Octagonal Table What is its Daimeter, and how long is each side ?' How do 13 people sit at 8 sides ? How much space do they each have ?
Variation 4 An Oval Table What is its Length and its width ? How much space per person?
Variation 5 (Not in the Story) How many sides should a table have to give 12 Knights plus 1 King, a fair and proper place to sit ? What do you call a 13 sided table ? How to convert an Oval Table into a 13 sided table ? Or start again, and build a new table !! Giving each person the same space as they had at the original table, what would the dimensions be ?
The First Round Table - How wide is this Table - what is the height of Lady Di with her arms stretched high ?
New ideas
@Steve
Thanks for all those ideas.
I particularly like the ones about how much 'space' each person could have at the table... it kind of takes the old "what's the largest area of field you can enclose with X fence panels?" problem and adds a new layer. In point of fact, I think it makes it more meaningful. Most children will only have a limited knowledge of working with animal enclosures, but will have a good 'feeling' for a problem concerned with how much space is available around a table... which child hasn't been squashed in a corner of a dining table - or stuck between the pointy elbows of those people who seem to eat as though they are rowing a boat.
John
Sir Cunference and the Knights of the First Round Table (a Maths