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EXPLORE OTHER '2D SHAPES' STORIES HERE

COULD YOU LIFT UP YOUR BOTTOM?
Author: Hee-jung Chang
​Illustrator: Sung-hwa Chung

Picture
Number of pages: 28
Publisher: TanTan Publishing
First published in: Unknown
Translated into English in: 2015
Format: Picturebook

Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? Yes
Is this story part of a mathematics story series? Yes (TanTan Math Story)

Preview and/or purchase this book on the Amazon websites: UK, USA, AUS, CAN
​
Synopsis by the author/publisher
​A gust of wind has blown Frog’s hat off of her head - and now it’s stuck under Elephant’s bottom. Elephant is hungry and won’t budge until Frog feeds him all kinds of delicious foods with unusual shapes. Will a fresh bagel entice Elephant to lift up his bottom - or will Frog need to figure out a more creative way to retrieve her hat? Elementary math concepts that relate to differentiating, naming, and combining shapes expand this clever story about creative problem-solving.​
“But Elephant wouldn't budge. "I won't move until you bring me something even more delicious," he said. "I want something that has a ... circle with a circle!"”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Hee-jung Chang’s ‘Could You Lift Up Your Bottom?’ is part of the world’s largest mathematical story picture book series, called TanTan Math Story (70+ titles). The English translation of this original South Korean version was done in 2015. The story is about Frog whose fancy hat is blown away by a gust of wind. Instead of helping to pick up the hat and return it to the frog, naughty Elephant decides to sit on it instead. His excuse is that he is too hungry to get up and later asks Frog to bring him a range of food items of different shapes to eat (e.g. ‘round’, ‘triangle’, ‘rectangle’, 'a circle within a circle', ‘something round inside of something triangular’, and ‘special shapes’). Each time, Elephant wants more. Frog eventually finds a way to get Elephant to get up and leave for good! The story does a good job in introducing a range of shapes to young children using a fun and engaging storyline. The page illustrations are visually appealing and the illustrating technique is quite creative. Like most titles in this series, the book comes with a few mathematical word problems relating to the story to be solved at the end of the story. All in all, ‘Could You Lift Up Your Bottom?’ is a nice story to either introduce or reinforce the concept of 2D shapes for children aged 5+ years old. (Disclaimer: We received a complimentary inspection copy of this book from the publisher/author) ​

Recommended age range: 
4+ years old

Relevant mathematics topics: 
​​2D 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.

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ABOUT US

MathsThroughStories.org is a non-profit and research-based initiative, based at the University of Reading's Institute of Education (UK).

It sets out to help mathematics learners around the world develop their conceptual understanding in mathematics and to help them foster positive attitudes towards the subject through  the power of storytelling.

Contact Us

  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • RESEARCH TEAM
    • On-line Contributors
    • Research Dissemination
    • Research Impact
    • SHOUTOUTS
    • Teacher Training / CPD Services
    • MEDIA APPEARANCES
  • RESOURCES
    • RECOMMENDATIONS
    • BLOG
    • NEWSLETTER
    • BOOK REVIEWS >
      • BOOK REVIEWS
      • INSPECTION COPIES
    • LESSON IDEAS
    • VIDEOS
    • CREATE YOUR OWN MATHEMATICAL STORIES >
      • GUIDELINE FOR MATHEMATICAL STORY AUTHORS
      • INTERVIEWS WITH MATHEMATICAL STORY AUTHORS
    • 'HOW TO' BOOKS
    • RESEARCH ARTICLES
    • PRACTITIONER-ORIENTED ARTICLES
  • COMPETITIONS
    • 2022 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2021 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2020 YMSA WINNING, SHORTLISTED AND LONGLISTED ENTRIES
    • 2019 YMSA WINNING AND SHORTLISTED ENTRIES
  • NEWS
  • CONTACT US
    • GET INVOLVED