This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you click and buy, I may receive a small commission (at zero cost to you).
I recently went to a used book store and found these amazing books about a family in a fantasy land that find themselves solving various math problems. The book series is called Sir Cumference and all the books teach important math concepts through intriguing stories set in the medieval period.
Unfortunately, they did not have all ten in the series, so I just grabbed what I could. When I got home, I just plopped a few into the book basket and moved on, thinking “Oh I will plan a whole lesson to go with these”.
Several days later, still, no lesson prepped, my 7-year-old, D picked it up on his own (gasp!) and asked me to read it!! (Huzzah!) No enticing, no tempting or persuading! The book naturally and genuinely captured interest on its own! Honest interest and no lesson prep?! Even less work for me!
Summary of Sir Cumference Book Series
The Sir Cumference books in this series are based during the time of King Arthur. Sir Cumference, his wife Lady Di of Ameter, and their son Radius are the main characters, as well as a few ‘co-stars’. In this kingdom of fun and puns, various problems occur or present themselves while on adventures. The solutions to these problems are found using very discrete math approaches.
The series is written by Cindy Neuschwander, a teacher who as a child hated math, and went on to graduate from Stanford University, illustrated by Wayne Geehan, and published by Scholastic. Author, Cindy Neuschwander also wrote several other math stories such as Amanda Bean’s Amazing dream about multiplication, Mummy Math which is based on geometry, and Patterns in Peru which is all about patterns and sequencing.
The series in general is geared toward grades 1-4, but could easily be used for older kiddos as well. While the books average about 32 pages, they are a pretty quick & easy read for parents and children together.
For some of the books, you might need more knowledge or support around the concepts or equations, but the three we have read (listed below) are pretty easy to understand without any extra knowledge, supplies, or tools.
There are a total of 10 books in the Sir Cumference series. Here are the ones we have read so far:
- Sir Cumference and the First Round Table – Book 1: the reader learns about radius, diameter, and circumference, which was also loved.
- Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland – Book 3: this one introduces and explains angles in ‘acute’ way! It covers obtuse, right or 90 degree, acute, and 180-degree angles. It even has a small part about parallel lines. This book comes with a paper medallion in the back of the book for kids to use and follow along with the story.
- Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter – Book 5: which covers area and perimeter but I think this one was a bit more in-depth than D was ready for at that time. Or perhaps we had just met his quota of reading for the day. But it did lead to a fun game in which the book called Inners and Edges where (as the name suggests) we count the number of inner tiles (we used post-its) and the edges to determine the perimeter and area of various sized square and rectangle shapes.
- Sir Cumferencce and All the Kings Ten – Book 6: which introduces and discusses place value. The outcome? D loved it! D loved it so much that he wanted to read more!
Here are the others in the series:
- Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi – Book 2: the reader learns all about the magical number Pi
- Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone – Book 4: this is a story about various geometric shapes such as cones, cubes, pyramids, cylinders, etc.
- Sir Cumference and the Viking’s Map – Book 7: covers coordinate geometry.
- Sir Cumference and the Off-the-Charts Dessert – Book 8: the reader learns about various ways of collecting data, charts, and graphing.
- Sir Cumference and the Roundabout Battle – Book 9: dives into what it means to use rounding techniques.
- Sir Cumference Gets Decima’s Point – Book 10: this story covers place value and the decimal system of notation.
There is a companion guide to the series that gives various reproducible activities called Round Table Geometry Class Activities. I was not able to find much information on it, however.
What We Liked About the Sir Cumference Book Series
Books like Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter make learning fun! When a lesson or concept gets tied to a story, the pressure some kids feel around learning can melt away!
Educational children’s books like these can be stepping stones for those who feel intimidated by learning. So for reluctant, skeptical, or ‘hard on themselves’ learners, this is an amazing option!
They also introduce concepts that may be too heavy, in a way that can be easier to understand and that makes sense. They take some (sometimes) abstract ideas and turn them into concrete information using characters and the storyline to solve problems.
While we read Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland, my 7-year-old said “Oh I get it! Radius should go down that hallway on the left, because it points to the 90 and makes a right angle!” This was the book he seemed most interested in while reading and it seems it was the book he took the most from also! He also was excited because our copy came with a paper medallion that is just like the one Radius receives in the book and we were able to use it while we followed along! D said “I want to be just like Radius!”
What We Didn’t Like About the Sir Cumference Book Series
The only downside I could see in the books is that while my kiddo wanted to keep reading them, he wasn’t quite ready for them. Some of the concepts were a bit over his head, and there was nowhere in the book where they guided the parents as to when to introduce certain concepts.
I would have liked to see something on the back cover or in the back of the book or somewhere to use as a guide. We personally don’t always follow them because I believe every kid can be at different levels regardless of age or grade, but I know some families could use a guide at least.
Why We Would Recommend the Sir Cumference Book Series
Overall, this is such a great option for introducing math concepts while finding connections, which is what we are all about! Snuggling on the couch, reading a book, and opening up a discussion easily and naturally…what better way to fill their hearts and create a safe place for their brains to open up and soak in all the information these books have to offer!
Using one of these books to be the introductions and then moving to a full-on lesson would give your child some connection ahead of time, while also allowing them to see an abstract concept flipped to a concrete stepping stone. Starting with that connection is a huge step toward helping your child retain the information organically, independently, and with lessened repetition.
Even though I included the book numbers in the list above, they can be covered in any order. Nothing is tying them in any specific order. This way you can jump around and follow your child’s interest and keep it fun and engaging!
How This Can Help With Homeschooling
These books would make an excellent addition to any homeschool library as it helps really explain some deeper concepts in a much easier, and more tangible, way. Which comes in really handy when it’s a concept the parent hasn’t used since third grade and needs a little help explaining it. Also, which homeschooling family couldn’t use more engaging resources?
Using educational, yet engaging books like these can really help break the ice on a new lesson and create a nice segway for the teaching parent to move graciously into a full blown lesson that may have otherwise been met with resistance. Pairing the books with some manipulative can really seal the deal on engraving a new theory into the mind. Plus it will help them move their bodies while learning, which is always a winner for everyone!
In addition, auditory learners will do really well with these types of books! Between the silly puns, the engaging knight theme, and the familiar setting of the King Arthur Era, auditory learners will find their brains naturally wanting to know what happens next! Having things explained in a fun and whimsical way can help their brains pick up the information and retain it with far less resistance than standard ways of teaching.
The way the author chose to incorporate the names of the concepts into the characters and settings in the story, will also help an auditory learner because they can reference how the character or setting got it’s name through the story and that will remind their brain how the math function or equation goes since that is how it played out in the story.
This is why knowing your child’s learning style can come in handy; if you don’t yet know yours, you can use this quiz! It invites an opportunity where their brains get curious and actually want to know more, because you’re speaking it’s language. Without this, their brain can actually get held up and stalled in the process of translating everything into a language it can process. But if information is already delivered in the language it knows, they are already farther ahead!
Final Thoughts About the Sir Cumference Book Series
So far, the books we have read in this series are so wonderfully thought out and creative! They have definitely helped my 7-year-old grasp some intimidating concepts easier and with far less pressure. Auditory is definitely one of his learning styles and I cannot wait until we are ready for the next ones! In fact, I am on the hunt for them already! Maybe then I will also be ready with a paired lesson! Ha!
If you are interested in grabbing these books for your personal library, click here to purchase from my affiliate link!