THE YOUNG MATHEMATICAL STORY AUTHORS (YMSA) 2019 COMPETITION
The Young Mathematical Story Author (YMSA) competition is an annual international competition set up to encourage young mathematics learners (8-13 years old) from around the world to embed their mathematics learning in a meaningful and engaging context through creating their own mathematical story picture book. This competition is organised by MathsThroughStories.org. (Details of the YMSA 2020 competition can be found here.)
Judging Criteria
Judging Panel
In addition to Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Founder of MathsThroughStories.org and Lecturer in Mathematics Education at the University of Reading, UK), our judging panel also includes two of the world's most prolific and best-selling mathematical story authors, Stuart J. Murphy and Cindy Neuschwander.
Judging Criteria
- Ability to embed a chosen mathematical concept in a meaningful context;
- Ability to show how characters' knowledge of the chosen mathematical topic can help them solve a problem(s);
- Ability to represent mathematical topics contextually (in words to describe meaningful contexts in which a chosen mathematical topic is embedded in), visually (via page illustrations), and symbolically (via using correct mathematical symbols, notations and language);
- Accuracy of mathematical concepts presented in the story;
- Ability to come up with an engaging plot and story;
- Gender and ethnicity balance in characters;
- Overall presentation and standard of writing (e.g. the use of punctuation, spelling, etc.)
Judging Panel
In addition to Dr. Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai (Founder of MathsThroughStories.org and Lecturer in Mathematics Education at the University of Reading, UK), our judging panel also includes two of the world's most prolific and best-selling mathematical story authors, Stuart J. Murphy and Cindy Neuschwander.
THE STUART J. MURPHY AWARD
(8-10 YEARS OLD CATEGORY)
WINNING AND SHORTLISTED ENTRIES
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With 200 entries from 18 schools across 5 countries to judge, the Stuart J. Murphy Award (8-10 years old category) is very competitive this year.
Many congratulations to the authors of the winning and shortlisted entries! The winner receives £100 and their school another £100. The Award is generously funded by HarperCollins.
You can read details of these talented young mathematical story authors, their mathematical stories, their inspirations for the stories, and the judges' comments below.
We would also like to acknowledge and thank all the authors and their schools for encouraging them to participate in the YMSA 2019 competition. Here are the participating schools this year:
British International School Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)
Buckden Academy (UK)
Deutsche Schule Bombay International School (India)
Elmhurst School (UK)
Hardwick & Cambourne Community Primary School (UK)
Lanesborough Prep School (UK)
Merryhills Primary School (UK)
Michael F. Stokes School (USA)
Oundle Church of England Primary School (UK)
Rasami British International School (Thailand)
Sandhills Community Primary School (UK)
Silver Oaks International School (India)
Smarden Primary School (UK)
St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School (UK)
St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary Academy (UK)
Swan Lane First School (UK)
Whalley Church of England Primary School (UK)
Whitecotes Primary Academy (UK)
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WINNER 'Chimi's Pancakes' by Hansini A. Karthik (9 years old) at Silver Oaks International School (India) What the judges say: "This author/illustrator has created a wonderful tale about a chef named Chimi who is making pancakes for her entire neighborhood. The story is engaging and has a real-world feel as Chimi deals with the problem of having to determine which three flavors of pancakes are the most popular and how many of each she should make. The operations signs become the characters who help her by using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to collect data and organize it so that Chimi can make her decisions. The mathematics is nicely integrated into the storyline and the ending is very satisfying. Congratulations on a job well done!" |
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What the author says: "The inspiration for my mathematical story came from the discussions that we had on data handling with our teacher, Miss Shanthi Padmakumar. I also used simple concepts of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division which we use in our daily life. I enjoy creating characters, naming and drawing them for the story. I would encourage other students to also write mathematical stories that will bring out imagination and make them creative. It is indeed a good idea to create mathematical story picture books and make mathematics learning fun. I would like to keep half of the prize money in my account and contribute the remaining to "Coins for the Country", an initiative of my school to help underprivileged children with their education. After all, everyone has a right to good education." |
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SHORTLISTED 'Around the Clock' by Marvan Gunasekara (10 years old) at St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School (UK) What the judges say: "This is a very creative story about Mr. Long Hand and Mrs. Short Hand and how they show the time of day on the face of a clock. They have twelve friends, the twelve hours of the clock, which are colored-coded to the illustrations. The real adventures begin when Mr. and Mrs. Hand become dizzy and the clock stops. Children help them place themselves in the correct positions to show various specific times. The illustrations include interesting visualizations and demonstrate a good understanding of time. Nicely done!" |
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What the author says: "My inspiration to make my maths story was myself because I used to struggle a lot with time so I decided to help others who struggle with the concept of time by putting my own knowledge for beginners into a story for the competition. I think that creating a mathematical story picture book is a good way to help people know how to write stories and help others to learn a certain maths topic." |
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SHORTLISTED 'Ben and His Favourite Snack' by Olivia (10 years old) at St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary Academy (UK) What the judges say: "This is the story of Ben and his three siblings as they try to share their snacks. The author makes good use of fractions within a real-world context. There is a nice emphasis on the use of maths models to solve problems. The story is well written and very engaging!" |
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What the author says: "My inspiration for this story was a memory I have of me and my cousins. They always want to have my snacks instead of theirs, and I used that idea to help write my story. I enjoyed writing my maths story because I thought it was a great way to bring maths and English together!" |
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SHORTLISTED 'Square Eyes' by Gelila Dereje (10 years old) at St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School (UK) What the judges say: "This is a fun story about a girl named Eleni who finds a box but must discover a secret code to unlock it. Eleni gets distracted from her mission as her entire world starts to multiply before her eyes. Eventually, she discovers the code by using square numbers. However, when she opens the box, her world becomes suddenly cubed. The mathematics is nicely integrated within the story and the entire concept is ambitious and very clever!" |
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What the author says: "My inspiration for the story was Michael Rosen [English children's novelist] and Miss Bishop [class teacher], because without them I wouldn't even know about it. I enjoyed it because it was my first time entering a maths competition and it is a great experience. I would encourage other pupils to create maths story picture books, because they can get a reward and they can improve both their English and Maths." |
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SHORTLISTED 'The Adventures of Bing the Panda' by Abigail (10 years old) at St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary Academy (UK) What the judges say: "In this story, Bing the Panda and his friend Sparky the Tiger work together to find the bamboo sticks and portraits that were stolen from Bing's mother's house. The illustrations in this story are charming and the language is very advanced and colorful. A few examples include the description of a "large, green silky field" and "they scurried over the hills and valleys." There is also a feeling of empathy as the characters interact with one another. We especially enjoyed the multiple representations of the mathematics, which have been depicted visually, numerically, and within the story itself. Excellent!" |
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What the author says: "I was inspired to use a panda as a main character as it is my favourite animal. I set him on an adventure because I love adventures and exploring. I would definitely recommend other students to write and create mathematical story picture books as it was a great experience, and I got to learn and had fun at the same time. I loved using my maths to help write the story." |
THE CINDY NEUSCHWANDER AWARD
(11-13 YEARS OLD CATEGORY)
WINNING AND SHORTLISTED ENTRIES
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With over 60 entries from 12 schools across 4 countries to judge, the Cindy Neuschwander Award (11-13 years old category) is a tough category to compete in this year.
Many congratulations to the authors of the winning and shortlisted entries! The winner receives £100 and their school another £100. The Award is generously funded by Charlesbridge.
You can read details of these talented young mathematical story authors, their mathematical stories, their inspirations for the stories, and the judges' comments below.
We would also like to acknowledge and thank all the authors and their schools for encouraging them to participate in the YMSA 2019 competition. Here are the participating schools this year:
British International School Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)
Buckden Academy (UK)
Chirec International School (India)
Debden Park High School (UK)
Derby Moor Academy (UK)
Deutsche Schule Bombay International School (India)
GEMS First Point School (United Arab Emirates)
King James 1 Academy (UK)
Lanesborough Prep School (UK)
Muscliff Primary School (UK)
Silver Oaks International School (India)
St. Benedict's Catholic High School (UK)
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WINNER 'Barney's Birthday Cake' by Anna Farr (11 years old) at St Benedict's Catholic High School (UK) What the judges say: "This was a fun story with a meaningful ending where friendship overcame greed with the main character sharing birthday cake with all his classmates. We loved all the invented excuses for disinviting guests and the 'emergency' for them to all convene at his house. The math was seamlessly part of the story and well illustrated with equivalent fractions to add more mathematical depth. Congratulations!" |
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What the author says: "My inspiration for writing this mathematical story was that I have so many lovely friends that will always be there for me whenever I need them and I would never do anything that would hurt them and I would always choose friends and family over everything because they are what makes me happy. I would definitely recommend other students to create mathematical story picture books, because it is a good opportunity to think about the maths that you have learnt and put it in with a bit of English writing. With the money that I have won I hope to buy some maths story picture books and keep the rest for later use". |
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SHORTLISTED 'The Lonely Troll' by Joseph Ryan (11 years old) at Lanesborough Prep School (UK) What the judges say: "A delightful story about negative numbers. It was age appropriate for 11-13 year old students, perhaps on the younger end. The story was engaging and clever. Clearly illustrated the concept of negative numbers. Well done!" |
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What the author says: "I enjoyed writing a mathematical story as we rarely get to combine maths and English in this way. It improved my English skills as well as requiring an in-depth knowledge of the mathematical concept. I particularly enjoyed brainstorming ideas for my mathematical story. (I used names from my sister's friends and my relatives for the characters!) I would encourage other students to participate in the YMSA competition next year as it will help them in both maths and English." |
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SHORTLISTED 'Jack's Symmetrical Painting' by Freya Tinker (12 years old) at St Benedict's Catholic High School (UK) What the judges say: "A nice story about the coordinate grid where a butterfly gives a mathematical drawing lesson to a child wanting to paint the beautiful butterfly. It was a lovely integration of art and maths!" |
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What the author says: "I have always loved creative writing. When the opportunity to create a maths story picture book came, I decided that I wanted to do something to do with symmetry as I enjoy that topic. At first, I wasn't very keen to write a children's book, but after thinking about it more, I realised that I could do something fun and creative with it. My advice for anyone else that wants to write it is to pick a maths topic that you know well and feel comfortable with and make a story out of it. Remember to be as creative as possible! I think that everyone should have a go to write their own maths story as it is quite challenging and very fun." |
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SHORTLISTED 'Mindfulness Through Maths' by Harriet Barber (11 years old) at Muscliff Primary School (UK) What the judges say: "A clever use of ratios with a secret meaning that only the main character could interpret. Reading about one of Nettie's days to actually see how the ratios were determined would have added another interesting dimension to the story. The math was well integrated and there were wonderful illustrations. Good job!" |
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What the author says: "My inspiration for my maths story was found because I remembered about the children that struggled with their mental health and used it as inspiration for the story. I found writing the mathematical story very enjoyable as I found regular Year 6 maths easy and was seeking challenge. I improved not only my maths, but my English as well. I would recommend writing a mathematical story to anyone seeking challenge or improvement in their work." |
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SHORTLISTED 'Dog & the Frog and the Mystery of the Fraction Shop' by Aniketh Topey (12 years old) at Silver Oaks International School (India) What the judges say: "A fun story about finding a missing fraction. We liked that Frog and Dog looked through other mathematical shops to find their fraction. The illustrations alluded to other math ideas which gave the story some additional depth and dimension. Well done!" |
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What the author says: "I always enjoy reading books. I used to look at books and think “Why can’t I write my own book?”. This thought inspired and sparked interest in me to write this mathematical story picture book. I thought the YMSA competition was absolutely great and I really enjoyed creating a mathematical story picture book, because it makes math enjoyable and interesting. I would definitely encourage other pupils to create a mathematical story picture book, because through writing a maths story, we can make math engrossing and fascinating." |
