Sir Cumference and All the King's Tens: A Math Adventure

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 Grant Wood’s American Gothic ). Libraries in which this series is popular will want to consider purchasing this title.— School Library Journal Cindy Neuschwander is an elementary school teacher who loves teaching math. She also enjoys traveling, reading, and writing stories. She thought up Sir Cumference while visiting medieval castles in England. Cindy lives in Pleasanton, California. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. “The last time we saw the king, he seemed a bit gloomy,” said Lady Di of Ameter to her husband, Sir Cumference, one evening. “His birthday is soon. Let’s give him a surprise party here at our castle to cheer him up. We could invite people from the entire countryside.” xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0xa0 “That’s a fine idea!” answered Sir Cumference. “We’ll plan a huge celebration for him.” Read more