The Greedy Triangle
By Marilyn Burns, Illustrated by Gordon Silveria
Although this book may be a struggle for second graders to read on their own, I still find it to be a very effective book for this age. This book has a great amount of mathematical content and vocabulary, so it can be very positively used in a second grade geometry unit. All of the math vocabulary in this text, such as triangle, pentagon, and octagon are correctly used and shown in the illustrations. This book is also really great for young students, because it shows real life applications for shapes, such as triangles are pieces of pie, or pentagons are the home plate at a baseball game. The vocabulary is appropriately used and well shown, so the story is both strong in content and accurately portrayed. The storyline of this book is great, because it shows a triangle's journey as he tries to find happiness as different shapes. It not only tells this story using geometry, but it also teaches the lesson that having everything may not make you happy. Students will be engaged by this story because they will want to see what shape the triangle will become next. The colorful illustrations also capture the students' attention, and they are accurate when showing the mathematical content. Overall, I think this book is very effective as a second grade book because of the content, even though the students may struggle with some of the large vocabulary.
From a literacy viewpoint, I find this book to be pretty effective as well. The writing style is fluid and easy to read, meaning that it easily goes from one idea or page to another. I believe that the vocabulary, other than the math vocabulary, is on target for second grade. It is not too complex, although there are some compound words that the students may have to decode, such as "shapeshifter." The storyline is great not only because it catches the students' attention, but also because it teaches a lesson. This story shows that greed will not make people happy, and it is important for students to realize this. Overall, I think this story is presented very well, because it displays a vast amount of content while also keeping the story fun and applicable to students. The illustrations help with this a lot, because they are very colorful and catch the students eye. They also help the student accurately follow the storyline, even if some of the vocabulary is a struggle.
Sir Cumference and the First Round Table
By Cindy Neuschwander and Wayne Geehan
I really like this book because of the mathematical content in the story. The story begins with a problem; a rectangular table is much too large and the King must shout for everyone to hear him. Sir Cumference takes on the job of finding a solution for making a table that can fit everyone without everyone being so far apart. As he searches for solutions, the story uses a lot of math vocabulary, such as rectangle, square, parallelogram, and octagon. Not only does the story present the vocabulary in a kid-friendly manner, but it also provides diagrams and illustrations, so students know exactly what the shapes look like. This book is also really great because it shows how dividing the shapes can make another shape, such as cutting a rectangle in half and putting the pieces together can make a square, or cutting a square makes two triangles. It also uses vocabulary as character names, such as Princess Di of Ameter, Radius, and Sir Cumference. The students will have an association with the story, and it will help them remember those tricky vocabulary words. The storyline of this book is very effective, because students are able to see that Sir Cumference and the King have a problem, and they work to find a solution. The story then has a resolution, or conclusion, that describes how Sir Cumference found a solution. The visuals and illustrations are colorful and eye catching, so they appeal to students and parents alike. They are also accurate when representing the shapes and vocabulary, so it is a great representation for students to remember.
This book is also really effective from a literacy viewpoint. It includes all the parts of a story, such as an introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. It also uses some fairly complex vocabulary, such as gracious, boundless, immediately, and commotion. Not only is there a lot of math vocabulary, but regular spelling and vocabulary words can be pulled from this book as well. The book is a fairly quick read, as it keeps moving from one event to another. The illustrations are effective because they are very colorful and keep the reader's eye moving throughout the pages. They take up at least half of every page and directly correspond to the text. This way, students can follow the story even if they are struggling with reading all of the words. There is an easy transition from one page to the next, because the author uses effective breaks in the text. She uses one page to present an idea, such as making a table in the shape of a triangle, and then the following page shows how the characters make the table. This keeps the reader moving through the story, and keeps the students interest in the story.
Videos:
In this section, I have linked youtube videos of our featured books. This way, you can still enjoy the books without having to go out and buy them. However, if you would like to purchase the books, I would recommend them for a more interactive experience. Enjoy!
The Greedy Triangle
Sir Cumference and the First Round Table
By Marilyn Burns, Illustrated by Gordon Silveria
Although this book may be a struggle for second graders to read on their own, I still find it to be a very effective book for this age. This book has a great amount of mathematical content and vocabulary, so it can be very positively used in a second grade geometry unit. All of the math vocabulary in this text, such as triangle, pentagon, and octagon are correctly used and shown in the illustrations. This book is also really great for young students, because it shows real life applications for shapes, such as triangles are pieces of pie, or pentagons are the home plate at a baseball game. The vocabulary is appropriately used and well shown, so the story is both strong in content and accurately portrayed. The storyline of this book is great, because it shows a triangle's journey as he tries to find happiness as different shapes. It not only tells this story using geometry, but it also teaches the lesson that having everything may not make you happy. Students will be engaged by this story because they will want to see what shape the triangle will become next. The colorful illustrations also capture the students' attention, and they are accurate when showing the mathematical content. Overall, I think this book is very effective as a second grade book because of the content, even though the students may struggle with some of the large vocabulary.
From a literacy viewpoint, I find this book to be pretty effective as well. The writing style is fluid and easy to read, meaning that it easily goes from one idea or page to another. I believe that the vocabulary, other than the math vocabulary, is on target for second grade. It is not too complex, although there are some compound words that the students may have to decode, such as "shapeshifter." The storyline is great not only because it catches the students' attention, but also because it teaches a lesson. This story shows that greed will not make people happy, and it is important for students to realize this. Overall, I think this story is presented very well, because it displays a vast amount of content while also keeping the story fun and applicable to students. The illustrations help with this a lot, because they are very colorful and catch the students eye. They also help the student accurately follow the storyline, even if some of the vocabulary is a struggle.
Sir Cumference and the First Round Table
By Cindy Neuschwander and Wayne Geehan
I really like this book because of the mathematical content in the story. The story begins with a problem; a rectangular table is much too large and the King must shout for everyone to hear him. Sir Cumference takes on the job of finding a solution for making a table that can fit everyone without everyone being so far apart. As he searches for solutions, the story uses a lot of math vocabulary, such as rectangle, square, parallelogram, and octagon. Not only does the story present the vocabulary in a kid-friendly manner, but it also provides diagrams and illustrations, so students know exactly what the shapes look like. This book is also really great because it shows how dividing the shapes can make another shape, such as cutting a rectangle in half and putting the pieces together can make a square, or cutting a square makes two triangles. It also uses vocabulary as character names, such as Princess Di of Ameter, Radius, and Sir Cumference. The students will have an association with the story, and it will help them remember those tricky vocabulary words. The storyline of this book is very effective, because students are able to see that Sir Cumference and the King have a problem, and they work to find a solution. The story then has a resolution, or conclusion, that describes how Sir Cumference found a solution. The visuals and illustrations are colorful and eye catching, so they appeal to students and parents alike. They are also accurate when representing the shapes and vocabulary, so it is a great representation for students to remember.
This book is also really effective from a literacy viewpoint. It includes all the parts of a story, such as an introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. It also uses some fairly complex vocabulary, such as gracious, boundless, immediately, and commotion. Not only is there a lot of math vocabulary, but regular spelling and vocabulary words can be pulled from this book as well. The book is a fairly quick read, as it keeps moving from one event to another. The illustrations are effective because they are very colorful and keep the reader's eye moving throughout the pages. They take up at least half of every page and directly correspond to the text. This way, students can follow the story even if they are struggling with reading all of the words. There is an easy transition from one page to the next, because the author uses effective breaks in the text. She uses one page to present an idea, such as making a table in the shape of a triangle, and then the following page shows how the characters make the table. This keeps the reader moving through the story, and keeps the students interest in the story.
Videos:
In this section, I have linked youtube videos of our featured books. This way, you can still enjoy the books without having to go out and buy them. However, if you would like to purchase the books, I would recommend them for a more interactive experience. Enjoy!
The Greedy Triangle
Sir Cumference and the First Round Table