USHA AND THE BIG DIGGER
Author: Amitha Jagannath Knight
Illustrator: Sandhya Prahbat
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Number of pages: 28
Publisher: Charlesbridge (USA) First published in: 2021 Format: Picturebook Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? Yes Is this story part of a mathematics story series? Yes (Storytelling Math) Preview and/or purchase this book on the Amazon websites: UK, USA, AUS, IND, CAN Synopsis by the author/publisher
When sisters Usha and Aarti look up at the stars, they see different things. Aarti sees the Big Dipper, but Usha sees the Big DIGGER. And cousin Gloria sees the Big Kite! Could they all be right? A playful introduction to geometry and spatial relationships, featuring Indian American characters and a note about cultures and constellations. |
“"Aarti! Gloria! Come back!" called Usha. "Lie here and look up." "It is a big kite!" said Aarti. "Now turn that way," said Usha. All three girls scooched around. "It is a big dipper!" said Gloria. They scooched again, Aarti and Gloria gasped. "And there's ... THE BIG DIPPER."”
Official review by MathsThroughStories.org:
Amitha Jagannath Knight’s ‘Usha and the Big Digger’ (2021) is a part of Charlesbridge’s Storytelling Math series which promotes gender and ethnic diversity in mathematical stories. The story is about three young sisters who are looking at the same seven stars from different perspectives while lying on the ground and can see different things: Aarti sees a dipper, Usha sees a digger, and Gloria a kite. They are arguing for what they can see until they realise that by changing their perspective, they can now see the objects the other siblings have described. At the most basic level, the story provides an opportunity for very young children to notice basic shapes. However, the storyline also provides a nice introduction to a mathematical concept that these very young children do not normally get taught until they are much older, that is the concept of transformation, particularly rotation. There are follow-up activities that teachers and parents can do with their children once they have read the story, for example, the children can be asked to identify some basic shapes they spot in everyday objects in their classroom or at home. They can also be asked to describe an object they are looking at before and after it is being rotated. Like the other titles in the series, there are also a few mathematical teaching and learning activity ideas given at the back of the book. A faster story’s pace and more variations beyond just looking at the same set of seven stars for 30 pages could make the storyline more engaging. The author’s attempt to include too many topics in the same story (basic shapes, rotation, positional language, spatial awareness, etc.) arguably comes at the expense of the depth needed for each topic. That said, the author is to be commended for writing – to the best of our knowledge – the first mathematical story with a focus on transformation. The page illustrations by Sandhya Prahbat are visually attractive, and help young readers to begin to grasp the concept of rotation. Like other stories in the series, we like that the story is told and illustrated by an author and an illustrator who share the same cultural heritage as the characters in the story. All in all, ‘Usha and the Big Digger’ can be useful to get very young children excited about spotting 2D shapes in everyday objects, and – as the author suggests - can also help to introduce the concept of transformation (i.e., rotation) to children, aged 5+ years old, though this latter mathematical concept may be too abstract for children at this age. (Disclaimer: We received a complimentary inspection copy of this book from the publisher/author.)
Recommended age range:
5+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
2D Shapes; Transformation
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.
Amitha Jagannath Knight’s ‘Usha and the Big Digger’ (2021) is a part of Charlesbridge’s Storytelling Math series which promotes gender and ethnic diversity in mathematical stories. The story is about three young sisters who are looking at the same seven stars from different perspectives while lying on the ground and can see different things: Aarti sees a dipper, Usha sees a digger, and Gloria a kite. They are arguing for what they can see until they realise that by changing their perspective, they can now see the objects the other siblings have described. At the most basic level, the story provides an opportunity for very young children to notice basic shapes. However, the storyline also provides a nice introduction to a mathematical concept that these very young children do not normally get taught until they are much older, that is the concept of transformation, particularly rotation. There are follow-up activities that teachers and parents can do with their children once they have read the story, for example, the children can be asked to identify some basic shapes they spot in everyday objects in their classroom or at home. They can also be asked to describe an object they are looking at before and after it is being rotated. Like the other titles in the series, there are also a few mathematical teaching and learning activity ideas given at the back of the book. A faster story’s pace and more variations beyond just looking at the same set of seven stars for 30 pages could make the storyline more engaging. The author’s attempt to include too many topics in the same story (basic shapes, rotation, positional language, spatial awareness, etc.) arguably comes at the expense of the depth needed for each topic. That said, the author is to be commended for writing – to the best of our knowledge – the first mathematical story with a focus on transformation. The page illustrations by Sandhya Prahbat are visually attractive, and help young readers to begin to grasp the concept of rotation. Like other stories in the series, we like that the story is told and illustrated by an author and an illustrator who share the same cultural heritage as the characters in the story. All in all, ‘Usha and the Big Digger’ can be useful to get very young children excited about spotting 2D shapes in everyday objects, and – as the author suggests - can also help to introduce the concept of transformation (i.e., rotation) to children, aged 5+ years old, though this latter mathematical concept may be too abstract for children at this age. (Disclaimer: We received a complimentary inspection copy of this book from the publisher/author.)
Recommended age range:
5+ years old
Relevant mathematics topics:
2D Shapes; Transformation
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.
