Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter: A Math Adventure by Cindy Neuschwander, Wayne Geehan (Illustrator)

Children's Literature

Young Per learns a new math game when she visits her uncle and aunt, Sir Cumference and Lady Di, and her cousin Radius. Using what they learned about figuring area in that game, the two children set out to solve a riddle about the Isle of Immeter, formerly owned by Countess Areana and now guarded by a sea serpent. To unlock the key to the Island's secret, they must work together and think outside the box to solve the riddles Areana has planted in some of the Cattle's tiles, all the while staying a step ahead of the fearsome sea serpent. The story is rather slight, but the unsophisticated acrylic paintings help move the plot along and add an element of drama. Certainly this will enhance a math lesson about perimeter, radius, circumference, and the area of a circle. It makes more concrete the formula we all learned in geometry classes. Diagrams are clear and the last page details the thought processes involved in solving the riddle.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6-Sir Cumference returns in this tale that introduces readers to the concepts of perimeter and area. As in the previous books, Neuschwander's characters have names that play with mathematical terminology. In this adventure Per visits his uncle and aunt (Sir Cumference and Lady Di of Ameter). After learning a game involving "inners and edges," she and her cousin Radius become embroiled in a mystery with a secret message and a threatening sea serpent. To solve it, the youngsters must travel to the Isle of Immeter and use a series of geometric formulas to tame the sea serpent and bring peace to the "area." Readers already familiar with these formulas will have the most ease understanding and solving the mystery. Teachers introducing the concepts of perimeter and area might find the book useful. Libraries that own the four earlier books in the series will want to consider adding this latest adventure to their collections.-Maura Bresnahan, High Plain Elementary School, Andover, MA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Product Details