TOADS AND TESSELLATIONS
Author: Sharon Morrisette
Illustrator: Philomena O'Neill
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Number of pages: 31
Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing (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 (Charlesbridge's Math Adventure) Click here to preview and/or purchase this book via the Amazon (UK) website Synopsis by the author/publisher
Enzo is the son of a great magician, however unlike his father, his spells create chaos instead of order. What really interests Enzo, more than books about magic, are books by and about the lives of famous physicists and astronomers like Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler. Enzo dreams not of becoming a magician, but a mathematician instead. When Tessel, the village shoemaker, is called upon to make twelve identical shoes out of only one piece of leather, Aida, the shoemaker’s sister, goes to Enzo’s father for some magic to help her brother. With Enzo’s father out of town at a magic convention, it’s up to Enzo to help Aida and Tessel out of their predicament. A spell snafu leads Enzo and Aida to a method of forming patterns without gaps or overlaps, and they discover that math, not magic, may be the answer to their problem. |
“"Look!" cried Aida. "The pieces make a hexagon. We could repeat that shape across the leather like floor titles, and we wouldn't waste an inch."”
Recommended age range:
7 years old +
Relevant mathematics topics:
2D Shapes; Patterns
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.
7 years old +
Relevant mathematics topics:
2D Shapes; Patterns
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.
