CRASH LANDING
Author: Lorna Greengrass
Illustrator: Lisa Hunt
|
Number of pages: 24
Publisher: Oxford University Press First published in: 2025 Format: Picturebook Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? No Is this story part of a mathematics story series? Yes (Stories for Maths series) Preview and/or purchase this book on the Amazon websites: UK Synopsis by the author/publisher
Nadia discovers Ember, a dragon from Moon Tail Island, in her dad's workshop. Ember is fascinated by the human world and Nadia is fascinated by dragons! The two become friends. But first, they need to tidy up the workshop ... Stories for Maths helps develop maths success through the power of story. |
“Nadia went back inside and up to bed. She closed her eyes. Now when she went to sleep, she didn't count sheep ... she counted dragons. Nearly one hundred of them!”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Lorna Greengrass’s (2025) ‘Crash Landing’ is part of Oxford University Press’s new Stories for Maths series. The story follows Nadia, a curious girl, as she discovers a friendly dragon named Ember from another land in her father’s workshop after hearing a mysterious crash. As Nadia and Ember get to know one another, the story seamlessly introduces the concept of skip counting. The activities include meaningful contexts for counting objects like bolts, spanners, and dragons in groups of ten, helping readers strengthen their understanding of place value and counting to 100. We love how Lorna integrates maths into everyday situations, such as organising tools or counting imaginary creatures, to make the concept both approachable and engaging for young learners. The beautiful illustrations by Lisa Hunt further enhance the book’s educational value by clearly showing objects in groups of 10s. We particularly appreciate the thoughtful inclusion of both close-ended and open-ended question prompts at the bottom of many of the pages (e.g., “How many bolts are there? How did you count them?”) which provide opportunities for children to verbalise their mathematical thinking and reasoning. All in all, we recommend ‘Crash Landing’ to help introduce (or reinforce) the concept of place value and skip counting 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:
Place value; Skip counting
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.
Lorna Greengrass’s (2025) ‘Crash Landing’ is part of Oxford University Press’s new Stories for Maths series. The story follows Nadia, a curious girl, as she discovers a friendly dragon named Ember from another land in her father’s workshop after hearing a mysterious crash. As Nadia and Ember get to know one another, the story seamlessly introduces the concept of skip counting. The activities include meaningful contexts for counting objects like bolts, spanners, and dragons in groups of ten, helping readers strengthen their understanding of place value and counting to 100. We love how Lorna integrates maths into everyday situations, such as organising tools or counting imaginary creatures, to make the concept both approachable and engaging for young learners. The beautiful illustrations by Lisa Hunt further enhance the book’s educational value by clearly showing objects in groups of 10s. We particularly appreciate the thoughtful inclusion of both close-ended and open-ended question prompts at the bottom of many of the pages (e.g., “How many bolts are there? How did you count them?”) which provide opportunities for children to verbalise their mathematical thinking and reasoning. All in all, we recommend ‘Crash Landing’ to help introduce (or reinforce) the concept of place value and skip counting 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:
Place value; Skip counting
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.
