THE ROYAL TREASURE MEASURE
Author: Harris Trudy
Illustrator: Ivica Stevanovic
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Number of pages: 32
Publisher: Millbrook Press (USA) First published in: 2012 Format: Picturebook Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? Yes Is this story part of a mathematics story series? Yes (Harris Trudy's Math Books) Preview and/or purchase this book on the Amazon websites: UK, USA, AUS, IND, CAN Synopsis by the author/publisher
The Royal Treasure Measure King Balbazar's kingdom has made a mess of measuring. Curtains are too long, robes are too short, and no one knows how to solve the problem. People measure length with everything from candlesticks to sausages to spoons. Finally, King Balbazar holds a contest. Who will come up with the winning unit of measurementand what will it be? |
“The people of his kingdom had to measure in strange ways because there were no yardsticks or rulers in those days. "Seamstress, make my drapes ten spoons long."”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
In Trudy Harris’s ‘The Royal Treasure Measure’ (2012), King Balbazar just has enough. Every time he wants something made, the measurement is never quite right. This is hardly surprising when things normally get measured by items like sausages and candles of different sizes! To try to fix this problem, the king decides to hold a competition to create an official unit of measurement in his kingdom. Just about everything - walnuts and broomsticks, swords and sickles, rowboats and cattle, goats and pickles - all of different sizes – have been used by people who want to win this competition but nothing pleases the king until a simple man named Arzo comes up with a unit of measurement that everyone has – their feet! The story is, to an extent, useful in making abstract units of measurement like feet more relevant to young children’s everyday life. However, the story could have addressed the fact that different people have feet of different lengths and unless an agreement is made on which feet length is to be used universally, the same problem that the king has originally won’t get solved. Another limitation of this story lies in the representation of female characters. Throughout the pages illustrating the competition, all one can see are male characters participating in what is essentially a mathematical competition and it does not help that the prize for the winner is the king’s daughter. Overall, ‘The Royal Treasure Measure’ can be useful to introduce the concept of non-standard and standard units of measurement to children aged 7+ years old, but the above limitations must be taken into account and appropriately addressed by teachers and parents during or after the read aloud.
Recommended age range:
7+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
Length & Distance
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.
In Trudy Harris’s ‘The Royal Treasure Measure’ (2012), King Balbazar just has enough. Every time he wants something made, the measurement is never quite right. This is hardly surprising when things normally get measured by items like sausages and candles of different sizes! To try to fix this problem, the king decides to hold a competition to create an official unit of measurement in his kingdom. Just about everything - walnuts and broomsticks, swords and sickles, rowboats and cattle, goats and pickles - all of different sizes – have been used by people who want to win this competition but nothing pleases the king until a simple man named Arzo comes up with a unit of measurement that everyone has – their feet! The story is, to an extent, useful in making abstract units of measurement like feet more relevant to young children’s everyday life. However, the story could have addressed the fact that different people have feet of different lengths and unless an agreement is made on which feet length is to be used universally, the same problem that the king has originally won’t get solved. Another limitation of this story lies in the representation of female characters. Throughout the pages illustrating the competition, all one can see are male characters participating in what is essentially a mathematical competition and it does not help that the prize for the winner is the king’s daughter. Overall, ‘The Royal Treasure Measure’ can be useful to introduce the concept of non-standard and standard units of measurement to children aged 7+ years old, but the above limitations must be taken into account and appropriately addressed by teachers and parents during or after the read aloud.
Recommended age range:
7+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
Length & Distance
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.
