HOW TO AVOID THE FEARSOME CAT
Author: Yoon Jeong Choi
Illustrator: Hyun Kyeong Shim
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Number of pages: 36
Publisher: TanTan Publishing (USA) First published in: Unknown Translated into English in: 2016 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
When fifteen mice living in a warehouse receive a threatening letter from the farmer’s cat, they gather together to decide how to protect themselves. The mice brainstorm for solutions and vote on different ideas to create a plan that will prevent the cat from attacking them. Through intricate, quirky illustrations, readers will learn how to sort items and create bar graphs to organize ideas. Activities and questions will engage readers as they measure quantities, create bar graphs, and evaluate the information within this exciting story. |
“The captain mouse grew impatient and brought out a sack of chestnuts. "Let's take turns. Everyone place a chestnut in front of the item that you want to choose." So the fifteen mice thumped, clumped, and stacked the chestnuts to mark their choices. "The most chestnuts are placed by the whistle drawing. So we have decided to use something that makes a sound!"”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Yoon Jeong Choi’s ‘How to Avoid the Fearsome Cat’ 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 2016. The story is about 15 mice who live in a farm shed. They are under threat from the farmer’s cat. Old Grandfather Mouse recalls his own grandfather told him a long time ago that when you hang something around a cat’s neck, the cat becomes helpless. The rest of the story follows the mice in their journey to collectively make the decision of what to hung around the neck of the farmer’s cat (heavy vs light; something smells vs something sparkles vs something that makes a sound); where to leave the bell for the farmer’s wife to see (in the cat’s bowl vs by the front door); and when to leave the bell (during lunchtime vs early in the morning when the milk is delivered vs in the middle of the night). Different ideas of how these decisions can be voted and recorded introduce the children to the concept of data handling, specifically the use of bar graphs (e.g. each mouse gets a chestnut, and whichever options has the highest stack of chestnuts gets chosen). The page illustrations do a great job in presenting different kinds of bar graphs. 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, ‘How to Avoid the Fearsome Cat’ is a great story to introduce the concept of data handling 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:
Data handling
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.
Yoon Jeong Choi’s ‘How to Avoid the Fearsome Cat’ 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 2016. The story is about 15 mice who live in a farm shed. They are under threat from the farmer’s cat. Old Grandfather Mouse recalls his own grandfather told him a long time ago that when you hang something around a cat’s neck, the cat becomes helpless. The rest of the story follows the mice in their journey to collectively make the decision of what to hung around the neck of the farmer’s cat (heavy vs light; something smells vs something sparkles vs something that makes a sound); where to leave the bell for the farmer’s wife to see (in the cat’s bowl vs by the front door); and when to leave the bell (during lunchtime vs early in the morning when the milk is delivered vs in the middle of the night). Different ideas of how these decisions can be voted and recorded introduce the children to the concept of data handling, specifically the use of bar graphs (e.g. each mouse gets a chestnut, and whichever options has the highest stack of chestnuts gets chosen). The page illustrations do a great job in presenting different kinds of bar graphs. 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, ‘How to Avoid the Fearsome Cat’ is a great story to introduce the concept of data handling 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:
Data handling
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.
