Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi (A Math Adventure) [Paperback]

Cindy Neuschwander (Author), Wayne Geehan (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1999 | Age Range: 7 and up | Series: A Math Adventure | Lexile Measure: 510L (What's this?)

Sir Cumference, Lady Di of Amter, and Radius are back in their second Math Adventure! This time, a potion has changed Sir Cumference into a fire-breathing dragon. Can Radius change him back?

Join Radius on his quest through the castle to solve a riddle that will reveal the cure. It lies in discovering the magic number that is the same for all circles.

Product Details

• Age Range: 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Charlesbridge Pub Inc (April 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570911649
• ISBN-13: 978-1570911644
• Product Dimensions: 0.1 x 8.6 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #78 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Royalty

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cindy Neuschwander is a mathematics educational specialist. A native Californian, Cindy has lived all over the world. She received a B.A. in International Studies and an M.A. in Education at Stanford University. She currently teaches third grade. Cindy was inspired to write Sir Cumference while living and traveling in England. Besides the Sir Cumference series, Cindy is the author of Amanda Bean's Amazing Dream, 88 Pounds of Tomatoes, The Chocolate Champs.

Cindy lives in California with her husband and two sons.

Illustrator:
Wayne Geehan, a graduate of the Art Institute of Boston, has been illustrating books, board games, and jigsaw puzzles for over 20 years. When he isn't painting in his Massachusetts studio, he enjoys being with his family, reading, and researching his family's genealogy.

Product Details

• Age Range: 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Charlesbridge Pub Inc (April 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570911649
• ISBN-13: 978-1570911644
• Product Dimensions: 0.1 x 8.6 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #78 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Royalty

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 64 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Intro to Pi March 28, 2002

By Doug Little and Anthony Huffman

Format:Paperback

Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi is the story of a boy that must use math to save his father. Most of the character's names are terms found in math, like Sir Cumference and Radius, which cleverly adds to the effect of the story. The use of a dragon gives the story more of a fantasy feel which appeals to the younger audience. The illustrations in the book are done well and add to the medieval setting of the book because they look like oil paintings. The goal of this book is to introduce kids to the concept of pi in a fun and easy to understand way. It pulls this off by having a fairy tale setting and actually having a reason to use pi that kids can understand. This book is not a quick read, yet it's not long enough to lose the attention of a child. Even though this is a children's book, it should only be used for older children since it involves division with fractions. Because of this, it works as a great educational tool for those older children by introducing them to a fundamental math term they will most likely use later in life.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Middle School kids April 10, 2005

By paulabear

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have use this book in my middle school classroom. The kids enjoy it. Yes, it is silly but heck so are middle school kids! Since reading the book and discussing it, the kids have a much better understanding of what pi really is, instead of just saying about 3.14.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful way to remember pi January 24, 2007

By Shannon

Format:Hardcover

I feel the age range given on the website should not be ages 4-8. This is appropriate for 8 and up. That said, my 5 year old enjoys it as just a fairy tale and I would not attempt any "teaching" to him. He listens as I read it to my older daughters and maybe it will seep in so when he's old enough to begin measuring, he will easily grasp the concepts.

This is a wonderful book - good illustrations and a clever story. The author works the math part in without it being cumbersome. A few times through this book and your child will have a good grasp of pi. At the least, it will be a good memory trigger if he/she needs help in class.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a BLAST! July 23, 2005

By Belinda M. Close

Format:Paperback

My kids love this book! They range in age from an 11 yr old girl to a 3 yr old boy and they all enjoy it! My son loves the story and the knights and adventure. And, he is learning something in the process. My older kids enjoy the story also but on a different level and it also reinforces what they have already learned! What a great concept! I can't wait for more to come out! We already own all 4!

40 of 53 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice idea, but ... March 24, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

A young boy gives his father the wrong potion to cure a bellyache, and must solve the riddle of the ratio of a circle's circumference to it's diameter to get the dosage to cure him. I enjoyed the fun names (Geo and Sym, the Metry brothers), but I was disappointed in the author's choice to use 22/7 as the value for pi. If the story hadn't made such a big point of getting the dose correct (or Dad would never be cured), I wouldn't have had any trouble with introducing an approximate value.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun, Funny, and For a Big Age Range March 22, 2009

By Lynn Hughes

Format:Paperback

As a fifth/sixth grade teacher, I find all of these "Sir Cumference" books to be interesting to students at every stage of learning about the math concepts they present. This is the one mathematically-flawed book in the series, however, which accounts for the 3 star rating. The young boy, Radius, searches for a cure for his father's unexpected transformation into a dragon, and 3 and 1/7 works as the value for pi needed to restore him to human form. It's a bit nit-picky of me, perhaps, but one of the most essential things a student should learn about pi is that it is a non-terminating decimal value which got a name because it couldn't be accurately quantified. That said, any teacher (or interested parent) could clear up the fuzzy definition. The books are funny, brief, written on a relatively easy level, and -- while most likely to be appreciated fully by students who have already learned the math -- could be enjoyed as stories by even the youngest listeners, as other parent/teacher reviewers have affirmed. This book, like the others, does a good job of using verbal jokes to help secure math vocabulary.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Discovering PI in a mid evil kind of way. November 15, 2004

By Justin Kutina

Format:Paperback

Radius has to discover PI in order to save his father, Sir cumference from the evil curse of the fire breathing Dragon. I read this book to a fourth grade class and they really got a kick out of it. They wanted to learn pie along with Radius through his adventures to conquer the curse. This is a creative way to introduce a math lesson to children. There is even places to stop and let the kids try a couple problems. The activities include measuring and dividing. Teachers this is a must have.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A decent introduction to the concept of Pi. January 26, 2012

By Brent J. Jensen

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a fun and entertaining book that introduces the concept of Pi to younger readers. I actually purchased it as a door prize for my annual 'Pi Day' celebration (yes, I'm a huge nerd when it comes to Pi). The girl who ended up winning it was the 4th-grade daughter of a friend who wasn't all that thrilled in receiving that as a gift (I mean, how about something cool like a video game, or at least candy?!?). However, they later told me that their daughter had enjoyed reading it. Further, she took it to school and the teacher read it to the class and they had both enjoyed it and discussed the concept of Pi as well. I also got another copy to read with my kids and my 4 year-old (an aspiring Pi nerd herself) enjoyed the story and the introduction to what the ratio means--so mission accomplished along those fronts.

Of course, given my huge affinity for Pi, I had to dock it one star because the book states throughout the story that Pi can be calculated as 22/7 (or '3 and a seventh'). While this is certainly a rudimentary approximation, it is by no means an exact calculation (irrational and transcendental, anyone?). It's not until the last page (after the story is over) that it says that "the part to the right of the decimal point is 'about' a seventh". While I realize that the 22/7 simplification is a conceit to make it more accessible to younger readers, it still bugs me every time I read it with my kids. So one star off for pain and suffering :-).