CHARLIE PIECHART AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING HAT
Author: Eric Comstock and Marilyn Sadler
Illustrator: Eric Comstock
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Number of pages: 40
Publisher: HarperCollins (USA) First published in: 2016 Format: Picturebook Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? Yes Is this story part of a mathematics story series? Yes (Charlie Piechart) Preview and/or purchase this book on the Amazon websites: UK, USA, AUS, IND, CAN Synopsis by the author/publisher
Charlie Piechart’s second math mystery takes place at school - when a purple, sparkly cone-shaped princess hat goes missing! Margot needs her hat in time for the school play (today!), so Charlie and his dog companion, Watson, are on the case—finding evidence of sparkles and purple paint and keeping on the lookout for geometric clues that might lead to the missing hat. Fantastic colors, clever characters, and beginning concepts in geometry will go down easy as pie, while activities at the end of the book will reinforce the shapes and the story. Dynamic duo Eric Comstock and Marilyn Sadler bring the right level of energy and entertainment for this engaged picture book audience. |
“With Watson along, Charlie searches for clues all over school. They find a cylinder-shaped hat and a half-sphere hat and lots of purple sparkles, but it's shaping up to be a tough case ...”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Eric Comstock and Marilyn Sadler’s ‘Charlie Piechart and the Case of the Missing Hat’ (2016) is the second book in the Charlie Piechart Mystery series. The story follows the protagonist, Charlie Piechart and his dog, Watson, in their attempt to search for Margot’s missing purple and cone-shaped princess hat which she needs for her school play later that evening. Throughout the story, Charlie and Watson come across a variety of hats all in different shapes: sphere, cylinder, half-sphere, but none of them is Maggot’s missing purple and cone-shaped princess hat. The last room yet to be searched is the science lab, but will Charlie, Watson and Margot find the hat or more clues to the hat there?
Mathematically speaking, this story provides ample opportunities for teachers and parents to engage young children to explore everyday 3D shapes through a fun and relatively exciting storyline. To extend young readers’ learning, the back of the book provides simple step-by-step instructions for children to make their own princess hat and a rocket. It also provides a series of challenges that readers can look for answers from the book's illustrations, for example, Charlie asks: “Can you find 3 rectangular prisms in my locker?”, etc. However, the challenges also include 2D shapes, such as a hexagon and a rectangle which may or may not confuse young children given the story’s focus is on 3D shapes.
Our team at MathsThroughStories.org has also come across a very valid comment by one of the parents who left their review of the book on Amazon and is worth citing here: “I'm sorry to have to be the PC-police here, but does the female character, Margot, have to be so helpless? First, her hat goes missing and she has to ask Charlie to "find it for me". This damsel-in-distress cliche is reinforced by the fact that Margot is dressed as a princess and is even shown being stuck in a tower on one page. Then later in the story, when Charlie asks her "why would a princess hat be in the science lab?", Margot replies, "Because I'm desperate, Charlie!". They received a clue about the hat possibly being in the science lab, so how is the answer to that question, "because I'm desperate"? I will not be reading this to my daughter a second time.”
Overall, ‘Charlie Piechart and the Case of the Missing Hat’ is a fun and useful story picture book to either introduce or consolidate the concept of 3D shapes to children aged 6+ years old. Despite the story is co-authored by both male and female authors, it is a shame that the story subconsciously reinforces a deep-rooted stereotype that is found, according to our research, in several mathematical story books that a mathematical problem can only be solved by male characters. If gender stereotyping in mathematical story picture books concerns you (and why it wouldn't?), we would recommend you encouraging your children to create their own version of the story where female characters or even better both female and male characters get to contribute in solving mathematical problems in their story equally.
(If you like the work of these two authors, you might also be interested in ‘Charlie Piechart and the Case of the Missing Pizza Slice’ and ‘Charlie Piechart and the Case of the Missing Dog’.)
Recommended age range:
6+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
3D Shapes
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.
Eric Comstock and Marilyn Sadler’s ‘Charlie Piechart and the Case of the Missing Hat’ (2016) is the second book in the Charlie Piechart Mystery series. The story follows the protagonist, Charlie Piechart and his dog, Watson, in their attempt to search for Margot’s missing purple and cone-shaped princess hat which she needs for her school play later that evening. Throughout the story, Charlie and Watson come across a variety of hats all in different shapes: sphere, cylinder, half-sphere, but none of them is Maggot’s missing purple and cone-shaped princess hat. The last room yet to be searched is the science lab, but will Charlie, Watson and Margot find the hat or more clues to the hat there?
Mathematically speaking, this story provides ample opportunities for teachers and parents to engage young children to explore everyday 3D shapes through a fun and relatively exciting storyline. To extend young readers’ learning, the back of the book provides simple step-by-step instructions for children to make their own princess hat and a rocket. It also provides a series of challenges that readers can look for answers from the book's illustrations, for example, Charlie asks: “Can you find 3 rectangular prisms in my locker?”, etc. However, the challenges also include 2D shapes, such as a hexagon and a rectangle which may or may not confuse young children given the story’s focus is on 3D shapes.
Our team at MathsThroughStories.org has also come across a very valid comment by one of the parents who left their review of the book on Amazon and is worth citing here: “I'm sorry to have to be the PC-police here, but does the female character, Margot, have to be so helpless? First, her hat goes missing and she has to ask Charlie to "find it for me". This damsel-in-distress cliche is reinforced by the fact that Margot is dressed as a princess and is even shown being stuck in a tower on one page. Then later in the story, when Charlie asks her "why would a princess hat be in the science lab?", Margot replies, "Because I'm desperate, Charlie!". They received a clue about the hat possibly being in the science lab, so how is the answer to that question, "because I'm desperate"? I will not be reading this to my daughter a second time.”
Overall, ‘Charlie Piechart and the Case of the Missing Hat’ is a fun and useful story picture book to either introduce or consolidate the concept of 3D shapes to children aged 6+ years old. Despite the story is co-authored by both male and female authors, it is a shame that the story subconsciously reinforces a deep-rooted stereotype that is found, according to our research, in several mathematical story books that a mathematical problem can only be solved by male characters. If gender stereotyping in mathematical story picture books concerns you (and why it wouldn't?), we would recommend you encouraging your children to create their own version of the story where female characters or even better both female and male characters get to contribute in solving mathematical problems in their story equally.
(If you like the work of these two authors, you might also be interested in ‘Charlie Piechart and the Case of the Missing Pizza Slice’ and ‘Charlie Piechart and the Case of the Missing Dog’.)
Recommended age range:
6+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
3D Shapes
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.
