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The Greedy Triangle (Brainy Day Books) (Hardcover) (Hardcover)
by Marilyn Burns
| Category:
Maths, Learning, Education, Ages 4-8, Children's book |
| Market price: ¥ 198.00
MSL price:
¥ 168.00
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| Stock:
In Stock |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Sensational shapes story with marvelous message, repackage your thinking, and shape up! |
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Author: Marilyn Burns
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pub. in: March, 1995
ISBN: 0590489917
Pages: 40
Measurements: 10.9 x 9.3 x 0.3 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BC00108
Other information:
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- MSL Picks -
The main content of this book is a triangle that enjoys being a musical instrument and catching the wind for sailboats shares his stories with his friends. Eventually, he began to feel dissatisfied and asked the shape-shifter to give him an extra side and an extra angle. After working for a while as a quadrilateral and sharing his new stories with his friends he once again becomes dissatisfied with his role and returns to the shape-shifter to have more sides added. The reader sees where the shape lives his life with his different amounts of sides and angles. With continued dissatisfaction, he adds sides and angles until he is nearly round and rolls down a hill. This is when he asks the shape-shifter to return to his former self.
Because the back of this book includes tips for teachers and parents to incorporate this book, it can be very useful as an educational tool. Taking a walk and searching for a particular shape in the world, or even spotting several makes students think about how they are seen. One pitfall that should be combated is children's tendency to recognize shapes only when they are in their most familiar form. That is, they should have some practice with flipped, turned and rotated shapes. Asking students to view a shape and then incorporate it into a drawing of a real-world illustration will help them as well.
Marilyn Burns has changed the way that many teachers approach the subject of math in the elementary school. This book is a wonderful accompaniment to her teaching philosophy and methods. The tips and strategies included at the end for teachers, parents and anyone else who may want to use this book just help to reinforce her teaching.
The acrylic and colored-pencil illustrations are colorful, abstract, and filled with smiling shapes done in shades of turquoise, pink, and yellow. A two-page spread of suggestions for adults to reinforce the math lessons featured is included at the end of the book.
Target readers:
Kids aged 4-8
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Author and math teacher Marilyn Burns is noted for her many books that instill an interest and enthusiasm for mathematics into her school-age readers. Her books use traditional and original literature to address mathematical concepts. In addition to her instructive children's books Marilyn is the author of many books for teachers. She has also written books for children about food, time, and Hanukkah. She says that her writing career began as a "fluke" when a friend asked her to write a book about math. This was the jumping off point for her literary career, during which she has written about a dozen books for children and the same number for teachers. She currently gives lectures and lessons in schools. Burns was born in 1941 and resides in Sausalito, CA.
Marilyn Burns is the creator of MATH SOLUTIONS inservice courses for K-8 teachers. Taught by the national faculty of Marilyn Burns Education Associates, MATH SOLUTIONS courses have been attended by more than 80,000 teachers nationwide.
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The basic plot is as tired as they come: a little Whatever wants to be Something Else, but finally decides that being a Whatever is best after all. In this case, Burns give the story a geometric twist: a little triangle who's tired of being a triangle goes to "the shape-shifter," who adds one more side and one more angle, making the little fellow a quadrilateral. It soon grows tired of being a quadrilateral, though, and returns to the shape-shifter to gain another side and angle, and another, and another, until the poor little polygon is almost circular. Eye-zapping graphics, airbrushed acrylics with colored pencil, give the crowded pages some pizzazz. Burns' appended notes for adults discuss the terminology and concepts and suggest activities to increase children's understanding of geometry.
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Dana H. Pasterjak (MSL quote), Palm Coast, FL USA
<2006-12-31 00:00>
I work in an inner city school. Believe me when I say that they are a tough group to please! They were absolutely enthralled with The Greedy Triangle! It opened up discussion in the class more than any other book I have read to them this school year. It is colorful, creative and fun. You can have the students use toothpicks and gummy bears to create the greedy little triangle and then change shapes as it metamorphisizes. Food is a great motivator. A fun way to instill a love of both reading and geometry. When the book is over, the kids can be "greedy" and eat their creations. Trust me; they will never forget the lesson. |
Donald Mitchell (MSL quote), Boston
<2006-12-31 00:00>
The Greedy Triangle is a most unusual book in that it will appeal to three age groups, 4-5 year olds, and those learning polygons for the first time, and for adults who never felt that comfortable with geometry. The book opens up the reader's mind to seeing geometric shapes all around, while providing a simple basis to remember the differences among polygons (they each differ in having one angle and side more or less than the most similar polygon).
"Once there was a triangle that was - as most triangles are - always busy." The book points out some of the many frequent places where triangles can be found such as "holding up roofs, supporting bridges, making music, catching the wind for sailboats, being slices of pie . . . and more." "The triangle's favorite thing, however, was to slip into place when people put their hands on their hips." This last refers to the space between the arm and the body. The triangle likes this shape because "that way I always hear the latest news . . . which I can tell my friends." And his friends like that.
But the triangle finds this boring at some point, and seeks the help of a shape-shifter to become a quadrilateral. Ennui recurs and the former triangle moves through a transition successively into a pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon, nonagon, and decagon. For the first few shapes, the book outlines places you find these shapes in nature and human-made objects. A connection is also made as to whether those shapes provide juicy stories to tell friends. There is adult humor, such as noting about not being able to tell secrets learned at the Pentagon.
Eventually, this all becomes self-limiting. "Its sides were so smooth it had trouble keeping its balance." "Its friends couldn't tell which side it was on and began to avoid the shape." The shape fell down a hill. "It felt tired and dizzy, lonely and sad." "I want to be a triangle again." The shape-shifter said, "I'm not surprised."
The book has an excellent guide in the end for parents, teachers, and other adults. This includes great exercises to extend this knowledge for your child. This section also explains the terms more precisely, and defines an undecagon (11 sides) and dodecagon (12 sides).
The illustrations are in bright, electric versions of pastel colors that effectively emphasize simple shapes in their most abstract forms.
I was impressed by the sections that use examples of the shapes. Some of them I had never thought about before. This is a great way to stimulate subconscious learning. I also enjoyed the many "punny" expressions, obviously designed to amuse the adult readers. If you don't like puns, you will probably think the book is a little corny.
The book's only weakness is that the story is too predictable. That limits its appropriateness for older children. They need more complications in their stories. Since the book is aimed 4-8 year olds, it doesn't hurt a bit for the 4-5 year olds but will lose you some 6-8 year olds. This predictability is fine for new geometry students, because getting to read something more interesting than a textbook is a thrill at that point. For permanently polygon-puzzled adults, the book will seem very down-to-earth and accessible.
I also suggest that you ask your child to extend the contents of this book to identify other shapes that are not polygons (such as circles) and specific types of polygons (such as squares, parallelograms, and trapezoids). You can use the exercises in the end of the book towards these shapes, as well.
Reshape your perceptions of polygons!
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Carol Pierson (MSL quote), Caribou, Maine
<2006-12-31 00:00>
I echo the remarks made by other five star reviewers of this wonderful book. As a high school teacher with a master's degree in teaching mathematics, I was so impressed by the author's clever way of introducing new shapes - and by the moral of the story. I bought this book for my seven year old grandchildren who loved it. We made a large pancake that I cut in the shape of a large triangle. They ate each side as I cut it off to make the next shape. One of my high school classes is a lower level math class. I read this book to them when we started a unit on Geometry. I took this book a step higher by talking about the meaning and derivations of prefixes like "tri", "quad", "penta", "hex" and so on - and that the suffix "gon" comes from a Greek ending meaning sides. If I ever teach a college Geometry class again, I will definitely read this book to them. One is never too old to appreciate a good story - especially when it is as cleverly written as this one is. |
A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-31 00:00>
The Greedy triangle is an excellent book for introducing geometry to students in grades 3-5. I use it with my fourth graders and it is a brilliant way to introduce the correct terminology involved in geometry. The story line can also be related to the idea of "the grass isn't always greener on the other side". The triangle goes from shape to shape and then realizes it was much happier as a triangle. I would definitely recommend this book. |
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