GRANDMA’S RED SILK DRESS
Author: Young-ah Kim
Illustrator: Yoon-min Han
Number of pages: 32
Publisher: TanTan Publishing (USA) 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
Grandma’s red silk dress that she brought when she got married is divided into parts as the years go by. Some parts go into making a quilt, others a tablecloth, a vest, and a lucky bag. Readers learn about parts and wholes through the story of Grandma’s red dress. Elementary math concepts that relate to understanding the whole and parts expand this warm-spirited celebration of family and intergenerational love. |
“Grandma cut the vest into pieces. She said two of the pieces would become a blessing pouch for me. [...] Parts can come together to become a new whole.”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Young-ah Kim’s ‘Grandma’s Red Silk Dress’ 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 a grandma who is making a blessing pouch to be filled with lucky money for her granddaughter. The piece of cloth used to make the pouch is previously part of Grandma’s vest, which itself is previously part of Grandma’s wedding dress. The story provides a great introduction to fraction, specifically the relationships between parts and a whole. 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, ‘Grandma’s Red Silk Dress’ is a wonderful story to introduce the concept of fraction 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:
Fraction
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.
Young-ah Kim’s ‘Grandma’s Red Silk Dress’ 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 a grandma who is making a blessing pouch to be filled with lucky money for her granddaughter. The piece of cloth used to make the pouch is previously part of Grandma’s vest, which itself is previously part of Grandma’s wedding dress. The story provides a great introduction to fraction, specifically the relationships between parts and a whole. 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, ‘Grandma’s Red Silk Dress’ is a wonderful story to introduce the concept of fraction 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:
Fraction
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.