Sir Cumference and the Off-The-Charts Dessert
ISBN 9781570911996
Regular price $9.99by Cindy Neuschwander; illustrated by Wayne Geehan
Join Sir Cumference and the gang for more wordplay, puns, and problem solving in the clever math adventure that introduces readers to charts and graphs through an annual bake-off.
In the eighth installment of this popular math adventure series, Sir Cumference and Lady Di need a baker to prepare a special dessert for the annual Harvest Faire. Two bakers compete to see whose dessert is most popular. When Pia of Chartres and Bart Graf have trouble keeping track of the votes their desserts receive, they each develop a better system. Pia places a colored candy around the edges of a pie dough (like a pie chart), and Bart stacks up cookie tins (making a 3D bar graph). Puns--both literal and visual--abound in this fun adventure story that introduces different methods of collecting data.
Perfect for parent and teachers who are looking to make math fun and accessible for everyone.
Recommended for children ages 8-12 years.
Softcover, 32 pages.
Charlesbridge. Printed in China.
Reviews:
A fun little math adventure that introduces the basics of fractions to early elementary audiences.
— School Library Journal
"This humorous story offers one explanation for the origin of pie charts and bar graphs while serving up some possible mathematical or culinary career choices for youngsters. Two talented bakers compete for the honor of preparing the Harvest Sweet for an annual celebration. In order to determine the popular favorites as the townspeople taste their wares, both bakers keep tallies, one marked with lines in flour on a table and the other with pinches of dough. But their records are ruined by their cat and dog that respectively dash through the flour and gobble up the dough. Still, they need some way to record their patrons’ favorite choices and eventually come up with their own strategies that will be animal-proof. The male baker stacks cookie molds, one for each different type of cookie preferred by his customers, while the female baker arranges different colors of candies around a circular, pie shape to record the results. Thus, the results will be visual, and easy to understand. The story will hold readers' attention while the acrylic paint illustrations fit the story well. The relish with which the townsfolk and the animals savor the desserts is palpable. Math has never been so sweet." ~ Reading Today Online
"Sir Cumference and the Off-the-Charts Dessert is one of eight books in Neuschwander’s series of mathematical adventures. This time, the medieval-style characters are embroiled in a bake-off of statistical proportions to determine this year’s Harvest Treat for the upcoming Harvest Faire. Pia from Chartres offers the best pies in town, and Bart Graf makes an assortment of cookies, but how to determine a winner? Ultimately, the pie graph and bar graph that are constructed, showing favorites among the pies and cookies respectively, make the selection obvious. Geared for grades 4–6, most of Neuschwander’s previous books help introduce and reinforce geometry concepts. In this book, she does the same for data analysis. Filled with delicious puns, the text is engaging and accurate; Geehan’s detailed illustrations enhance the mathematical information presented and promote a sense of fun. Fourth graders will think they themselves are unlocking the secret to the puns of “Pia from Chartres” and “Lady Di of Ameter,” whereas older students will simply groan. In either case, the mathematical concepts will most likely be remembered." ~ Teaching Children Mathematics, NCTM
Sir Cumference and Viking's Map
ISBN 9781570917929
Regular price $9.99by Cindy Neuschwander; illustrated by Wayne Geehan
For fans of the Sir Cumference series with coordinate geometry on their mind, here is the seventh installment in this fun look at math and language.
While riding through the forests of Angleland, cousins Per and Radius realize they are lost and are desperate for a map to guide them home. Soon they come across a mysterious house in the hills. Inside they find a map to a treasure belonging to Xaxon Yellowbearyd, the fiercest Viking warrior of his time. Per and Radius must decode the strange numbered grid on the map, while trying to steer clear of the pack of bungling bandits who are on their tail. Will they find the treasure in time?
Cindy Neuschwander delivers yet another intriguing math adventure featuring the well-known characters of Angleland. Readers will enjoy following Per and Radius in their quest while learning how coordinate geometry relates to everyday life. Wayne Geehan’s beautiful illustrations offer a bit of comic relief, while also clearly demonstrating the concepts explored in the story.
Perfect for parent and teachers who are looking to make math fun and accessible for everyone.
Download the coordinate map from the publisher's website here.
Recommended for children ages 8-12 years.
Softcover, 32 pages.
Charlesbridge. Printed in China.
Reviews:
"In the seventh addition to the Sir Cumference series, cousins Per and Radius are lost in the medieval countryside when they discover a map decorated with two hand "axes" featuring X and Y coordinates. The map promises to lead them to treasure belonging to Viking Xaxon Yellowbearyd. As Per and Radius follow the map on horseback, they discover additional X and Y coordinate clues left by Xaxon, which readers can help them locate on the large map. Outwitting a gang of bandits, Per and Radius follow the last coordinates to Xaxon's ghost, who gives them the treasure (in the form of more maps). Neuschwander does an admirable job of injecting humor (namely, some groan-inducing puns) and action (bandits! ghosts!) into this explanation of coordinates and axes, and Geehan's thickly worked paintings contribute some drama of their own." ~ Publishers Weekly
Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone
ISBN 9781570916014
Regular price $9.99by Cindy Neuschwander; illustrated by Wayne Geehan
Five knights compete for the honor of heir.
King Arthur has hidden his sword, Edgecalibur and issued a challenge to the knights. The first knight to find the sword will be the next king. Can Sir Cumference and Lady Di point Radius's best friend, Vertex in the right direction? Will Vertex's sharp thinking give him the edge?
Join Sir Cumference, Lady Di of Ameter, and their son, Radius, as they race to help Vertex find the sword and discover the secrets of cubes, pyramids, cylinders, and cones.
Recommended for children ages 8-12 years.
Softcover, 32 pages.
Charlesbridge. Printed in China.
Download activities to accompany the book at the publisher's website here.
Reviews:
"Neuschwander retells "The Sword in the Stone" from a mathematical angle. Readers follow along with Sir Cumference and Lady Di of Ameter as their son Radius and his friend Vertex set out to find Edgecalibur. Filled with riddles and puns, the story is sure to delight students with some geometry background. Geehan's bright oil, acrylic, and pen-and-ink paintings include all the visual details that the text needs to help solve this geometrical mystery. If your students have enjoyed the first three books in the series, they will certainly want this one. Make sure to share these gems with your math teachers. The books can be used to support educational initiatives such as multiple intelligences, and students who are strong in verbal/linguistic areas will appreciate the integration of literature into their math lessons." ~ School Library Journal
"Sir Cumference equals circumference, get it? This adventure series about a knight in the time of King Arthur centers on mysteries that can be solved only by using math. The latest book, The Sword in the Cone, is a play on the Arthurian legend, in which a boy named Arthur pulled a sword out of a stone to become king. That sword was called Excalibur; in this book, the sword is Edgecalibur. But the prize is the same: The person who finds the sword will be king. Sir Cumference's son, Radius, and trusty pal Vertex set off to seek the sword with only a clue about "shapes that make 2" to guide them. Sound 2 good 2 be true? Read the book, and you'll find it works!" ~ Dallas Morning News
"In the fourth book of this series, Radius, son of Sir Cumference and Lady Di of Ameter, tackles a mathematical puzzle that wins his friend, Vertex, the honor of becoming the king's heir. Whimsical illustrations bursting with rich colors entice readers to join the boys as they creatively use models, math, and a little manual labor to find Edgecalibur, the king's sword. Neuschwander, an elementary school teacher, chooses Euler's Law as a starting point for the joureny and cleverly wraps it up with a nod to the future King Vertex, the Line-Hearted." ~ Childhood Education
Sir Cumference and all the King's Tens
ISBN 9781570917288
Regular price $9.99by Cindy Neuschwander; illustrated by Wayne Geehan
A clever introduction to place value.
Sir Cumference and Lady Di planned a surprise birthday party for King Arthur, but they didn’t expect so many guests to show up. How many lunches will they need? And with more guests arriving by the minute, what about dinner? Sir Cumference and Lady Di have to figure out a quick way to count the guests to bring order to the party.
Sir Cumference and his friends have been entertaining young and old alike for years as they introduce important math concepts with clarity and humor.
Recommended for children ages 8-12 years.
Softcover, 32 pages.
Charlesbridge. Printed in China.
Download activities to accompany the book at the publisher's website here.
Reviews:
School Library Journal
Sir Cumference and his wife, Lady Di, are back in another math adventure. As the hosts of a surprise birthday party for King Arthur, the couple needs to organize a growing number of guests for events to run smoothly. After several fumbling attempts to count the crowd, Sir Cumference realizes that the simplest way to figure out the total is to group the guests into tens, hundreds, and ultimately thousands. This system allows the royal celebration to take place without a hitch, resulting in a happy ending for all. Children will enjoy the lesson built into this tale and identify with the birthday-party theme. While the story can be enjoyed independently, most youngsters would benefit from sharing the book with an adult to fully understand the place value system. The math concept is explained in more detail in an author’s note. The painterly acrylic illustrations convey the action with humorous exaggeration and amusing details (the depiction of a farmer and his wife is reminiscent of Grand Wood’s American Gothic). Libraries in which this series is popular will want to consider purchasing this title.
The Midwest Book Review
Sir Cumference and All the King's Tens is a Math Adventure book for elementary age children that uses the king's surprise birthday celebration for a chance to learn to count by tens. Surprise party guest attendance must be counted quickly because Lady Di and Sir Cumference, the host and hostess for the birthday party, need to know how many guests to feed for lunch and dinner. In a comical series of preparation adventures, Sir Cumference and Lady Di count guests by tens, hundreds, and even thousands, using a system known as "place value" for their numbers. How many guests attend in total, and does the gloomy king finally smile and enjoy his birthday party? Inquisitive budding math minds will want to know, so pages will painlessly turn and numbers will effortlessly be learned in Sir Cumference and All the King's Men, a math masterpiece!
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Continuing the adventure of Sir Cumference and the Lady Di Ameter with a place-value focus, this tells the story of guests arriving for a surprise birthday party for the king. When large numbers of people start to appear,so does the problem of getting an accurate count for lunch and dinner acommodations. Several methods are explored before the idea of creating groups of tens, hundreds, and then thousands are introduced to garner and accurate count.
The book also includes the idea of writing large numbers in expanded notation. This book is engaging and an excellent way to incorporate literacy and mathematics. The biggest strength of this book is its introduction of counting and the importance of having an organized system for counting. Used in tandem with the other books in the series, students are introduced to different math topics with a familiar cast of characters. After the story, an additional page makes more connections between the story and place value, with suggestions of ways students can use the imagery in the book to help understand the value of a big number the next time they see one.
I recommend this book, as well as other in the series, to teachers looking for an engaging way to incorporate math and literacy into their classroom.