Sir Cumference and the Fracton Faire: A Math Adventure

K-Gr 3--Lady Di of Ameter, Sir Cumference, and Reginald Patron, the Earl of Fracton, visit the local faire, where they learn about fractions through the sale of cheese, cloth, and stolen merchandise. Concepts such as denominators, numerators, and equivalents are clearly explained through interactions with the various merchants. Some text is in dialogue balloons, for instance, during the puppet show and as the thieves search for fractions. The text uses several different terms to reinforce the concepts of fractions in spoken language. The soft, muted, color sketches are detailed and vary in size. Fractions are scattered throughout the illustrations. The white wax on yellow cloth used to show numerators and denominators makes the text a bit hard to read. The use of the word fracton, instead of the proper spelling, detracts from the math lesson. VERDICT Suitable for all libraries, this is a fun little math adventure that introduces the basics of fractions to early elementary audiences.--Tamara Saarinen, Pierce County Library, WA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Lady Di of Ameter, Sir Cumference, and Reginald Patron, the Earl of Fracton, visit the local faire, where they learn about fractions through the sale of cheese, cloth, and stolen merchandise. Concepts such as denominators, numerators, and equivalents are clearly explained through interactions with the various merchants. Some text is in dialogue balloons, for instance, during the puppet show and as the thieves search for fractions. The text uses several different terms to reinforce the concepts of fractions in spoken language. The soft, muted, color sketches are detailed and vary in size. Fractions are scattered throughout the illustrations. The white wax on yellow cloth used to show numerators and denominators makes the text a bit hard to read. The use of the word fracton, instead of the proper spelling, detracts from the math lesson. VERDICT Suitable for all libraries, this is a fun little math adventure that introduces the basics of fractions to early elementary audiences.
—School Library Journal