THE FLYING BIRDS
Author: Eun-sun Han
Illustrator: Ju-kyoung Kim
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Number of pages: 36
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
When an old carpenter takes a walk in the park, he hears birds singing. The birdsong delights him - and he soon has a brilliant idea that makes his own heart sing. Elementary math concepts that relate to multiplication are illuminated In this gentle story that celebrates nature as well as creativity. |
“If there are 3 eggs in each birdhouses and there are 2 birdhouses, there are 6 eggs in total. 3 x 2 = 6. 3 x 2 = 3 x 3.”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Eun-sun Han’s ‘The Flying Birds’ 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 storyline of this ‘story’ is quite weak: it is essentially about an old carpenter building different kinds of birdhouses: ones with one hole; ones with two holes; and ones with three holes. That is it. The mathematical aspect of this story is that multiplication and repeated addition are used, not by the carpenter but by the narrator, to work out the total number of birds on different pages (e.g. “If there are 2 holes in each birdhouse and there are 4 birdhouses (2 times 4), there are 8 holes altogether. 2 x 4 = 8. 2 x 4 = 2 + 2 + 2 + 2”). Meaningful connections between the story and its mathematical component are absent. Some texts are also problematic, arguably. For example, one of the texts says “If there are 2 birds of each [of the 2] species and 2 birdhouses […], there are 4 birds altogether”. Whether there are 2 or 20 birdhouses is irrelevant, as there will still be just “2 birds of each [of the 2] species” and thus 4 birds altogether. Overall, ‘The Flying Birds’ has a mathematics textbook / worksheet in disguise vibe. That said, the page illustrations do a great job in visualising groupings of birds which can be useful to help children learn the concept of multiplication as repeated addition. 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, ‘The Flying Birds’ is an acceptable ‘story’ to teach the concept of multiplication 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:
Multiplication
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.
Eun-sun Han’s ‘The Flying Birds’ 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 storyline of this ‘story’ is quite weak: it is essentially about an old carpenter building different kinds of birdhouses: ones with one hole; ones with two holes; and ones with three holes. That is it. The mathematical aspect of this story is that multiplication and repeated addition are used, not by the carpenter but by the narrator, to work out the total number of birds on different pages (e.g. “If there are 2 holes in each birdhouse and there are 4 birdhouses (2 times 4), there are 8 holes altogether. 2 x 4 = 8. 2 x 4 = 2 + 2 + 2 + 2”). Meaningful connections between the story and its mathematical component are absent. Some texts are also problematic, arguably. For example, one of the texts says “If there are 2 birds of each [of the 2] species and 2 birdhouses […], there are 4 birds altogether”. Whether there are 2 or 20 birdhouses is irrelevant, as there will still be just “2 birds of each [of the 2] species” and thus 4 birds altogether. Overall, ‘The Flying Birds’ has a mathematics textbook / worksheet in disguise vibe. That said, the page illustrations do a great job in visualising groupings of birds which can be useful to help children learn the concept of multiplication as repeated addition. 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, ‘The Flying Birds’ is an acceptable ‘story’ to teach the concept of multiplication 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:
Multiplication
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.
