Download high-resolution image

Sir Cumference and the Fracton Faire

Part of Sir Cumference

Author Cindy Neuschwander

Illustrated by Wayne Geehan

Hardcover

$16.99 US

| $19.99 CAN

Charlesbridge

On sale Mar 07, 2017 | 32 Pages | 9781570917714

Age 7-10 years | Grades 2-5

Reading Level: Lexile 610L | Fountas & Pinnell Q

Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

See Additional Formats

Children's Books > Children's Nonfiction

View on Edelweiss

Join Sir Cumference and the gang for more wordplay, puns, and problem solving in the clever math adventure that introduces readers to the concept of fractons.

Sir Cumference and Lady Di discover "Fracton numbers" while purchasing cloth and cheese at the Fracton Faire. While two-fourths may seem like the same as one-half, in truth it denotes two parts of one-half, or two quarters of the whole. But the real mystery is the fact that items at the fair keep disappearing, and Sir C, Lady Di, and the Earl of Fracton must set a numeric trap for the thief, teaching an important lesson along the way about the comparative size of fractions.
Puns--both literal and visual--abound in this fun adventure story with beloved characters and a solid pedagogical foundation.

A fun little math adventure that introduces the basics of fractions to early elementary audiences.
— School Library Journal

“Fine fabrics!” “Fresh cheese!” Baa, baa!

It was the opening morning of the Fracton Faire.

“Such a merry atmosphere!” said Lady Di of Ameter. She and Sir Cumference strolled jauntily through the crowds with their friend Reginald Parton, the Earl of Fracton.

The two men stopped to watch a sword swallower while Lady Di wandered over to a cloth merchant’s booth. She ran her hand over a length of fabric. “How perfectly soft!” she exclaimed.

The merchant smiled. “You can buy all or part,” she said, pointing to the sign above her.

“What do those numbers mean?” Lady Di asked.

“They’re Fracton numbers, my lady,” the woman answered. “They are used to measure equal pieces of something, such as this beautiful cloth.”

Copyright © 2017 by Cindy Neuschwander (Author); Wayne Geehan (Illustrator). All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Lady Di of Ameter, Sir Cumference, and Reginald Patron, the Earl of Fracton, visit the local faire, where they learn about fractions through the sale of cheese, cloth, and stolen merchandise. Concepts such as denominators, numerators, and equivalents are clearly explained through interactions with the various merchants. Some text is in dialogue balloons, for instance, during the puppet show and as the thieves search for fractions. The text uses several different terms to reinforce the concepts of fractions in spoken language. The soft, muted, color sketches are detailed and vary in size. Fractions are scattered throughout the illustrations. The white wax on yellow cloth used to show numerators and denominators makes the text a bit hard to read. The use of the word fracton, instead of the proper spelling, detracts from the math lesson. VERDICT Suitable for all libraries, this is a fun little math adventure that introduces the basics of fractions to early elementary audiences.
--School Library Journal

Cindy Neuschwander is a native Californian born in San Diego. She received a BA in international studies from Willamette University and an MA in education from Stanford University. She has been teaching since 1975, both at the high school and elementary levels. As a mathematics education specialist, Cindy sought ways to make math fun, interesting, and comprehensible to her students. In 1992, while living in England, Cindy began working on her first book with this goal in mind. Sir Cumference and the First Round Table took five years to reach publication, but it remains a very popular book for its presentation of math concepts as well as for its amusing and exciting story. View titles by Cindy Neuschwander

Wayne Geehan, a graduate of the Art Institute of Boston, has been illustrating books, board games, and jigsaw puzzles for over 20 years. He is the illustrator of Multiplying Menace and Cut Down to Size at High Noon, as well as the Sir Cumference series. When he isn't painting in his Massachusetts studio, he enjoys being with his family, reading, and researching his family's genealogy. View titles by Wayne Geehan