BRACELETS FOR BINA'S BROTHERS
Author: Rajani LaRocca
Illustrator: Chaaya Prabhat
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Number of pages: 29
Publisher: Charlesbridge (USA) First published in: 2021 Format: Picturebook Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? Yes Is this story part of a mathematics story series? Yes (Storytelling Math) Preview and/or purchase this book on the Amazon websites: UK, USA, AUS, IND, CAN Synopsis by the author/publisher
For the Hindu holiday of Raksha Bandhan, Bina is determined to make beaded bracelets for her brothers all by herself. She finds out which colors her brothers like and dislike and sets to work. Working with her every-other-one beading pattern causes Bina to discover something new about patterns--and her brothers. Storytelling Math celebrates children using math in their daily adventures as they play, build, and discover the world around them. Joyful stories and hands-on activities make it easy for kids and their grown-ups to explore everyday math together. Developed in collaboration with math experts at STEM education nonprofit TERC, under a grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation. |
“Bina started over. She strung a green bead, then blue, then green, then blue. She added the music-note bead and finished with green-blue-green-blue. The pattern was every-other-one like Vijay's but with different colors.”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Rajani LaRocca’s ‘Bracelets for Bina's Brothers’ (2021) is a part of Charlesbridge’s Storytelling Math series which promotes diversity (e.g., gender and ethnicity) in mathematical stories. The story follows young girl, named Bina who wants to make beaded bracelets for her brothers (Vijay, Siddarth and Arjun) all by herself to celebrate the Hindu holiday of Raksha Bandhan whereby siblings give small gifts to one another. Having found out which colours her brothers like and dislike, Bina begins to make the beaded bracelets using her every-other-one (alternating) beading pattern. Will Bina remember which brothers like and dislike which colour, and will she be able to create the beaded bracelets all by herself? There are so many follow-up activities that teachers and parents can do with their children once they have read the story, for example, the children could be asked to design their own bracelet either through drawing and colouring the bracelet or using Unifix cubes of different colours to make one. They could then be invited to share their bracelet and explain its pattern. Like the other titles in the series, there are also a few activity ideas given at the back of the book. The page illustrations by Chaaya Prabhat are so visually attractive and help young readers to clearly visualise the mathematical concepts behind the story. We like that the story is told and illustrated by an author and an illustrator who share the same cultural heritage as the characters in the story. All in all, we highly recommend ‘Bracelets for Bina's Brothers’ to either introduce (or reinforce) the concept of patterns to children, aged 5+ years old. (Disclaimer: We received a complimentary inspection copy of this book from the publisher/author.)
Recommended age range:
5+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
Patterns
Possible teaching activities:
At MathsThroughStories.org, we believe that stories can be meaningfully incorporated in mathematics teaching in different ways. Thus, we are inviting you to share your experience of how you have used this story in your mathematics lesson with other members of the community. By sharing your experience with us, you will be added to our team of On-line Contributors here, where you can also find our submission guideline.
Rajani LaRocca’s ‘Bracelets for Bina's Brothers’ (2021) is a part of Charlesbridge’s Storytelling Math series which promotes diversity (e.g., gender and ethnicity) in mathematical stories. The story follows young girl, named Bina who wants to make beaded bracelets for her brothers (Vijay, Siddarth and Arjun) all by herself to celebrate the Hindu holiday of Raksha Bandhan whereby siblings give small gifts to one another. Having found out which colours her brothers like and dislike, Bina begins to make the beaded bracelets using her every-other-one (alternating) beading pattern. Will Bina remember which brothers like and dislike which colour, and will she be able to create the beaded bracelets all by herself? There are so many follow-up activities that teachers and parents can do with their children once they have read the story, for example, the children could be asked to design their own bracelet either through drawing and colouring the bracelet or using Unifix cubes of different colours to make one. They could then be invited to share their bracelet and explain its pattern. Like the other titles in the series, there are also a few activity ideas given at the back of the book. The page illustrations by Chaaya Prabhat are so visually attractive and help young readers to clearly visualise the mathematical concepts behind the story. We like that the story is told and illustrated by an author and an illustrator who share the same cultural heritage as the characters in the story. All in all, we highly recommend ‘Bracelets for Bina's Brothers’ to either introduce (or reinforce) the concept of patterns to children, aged 5+ years old. (Disclaimer: We received a complimentary inspection copy of this book from the publisher/author.)
Recommended age range:
5+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
Patterns
Possible teaching activities:
At MathsThroughStories.org, we believe that stories can be meaningfully incorporated in mathematics teaching in different ways. Thus, we are inviting you to share your experience of how you have used this story in your mathematics lesson with other members of the community. By sharing your experience with us, you will be added to our team of On-line Contributors here, where you can also find our submission guideline.
